SSB: The Angel and the Princess
by brawlingwolf
Summary: Tournament number four is beginning, bringing together fighters from all over the multiverse. While the battles can be ruthless, injuries sustained during them are promised to be only temporary, and there are no rules to developing friendships outside the combat. But are the fighters truly safe from death? Lucit, Pit/Dark Pit brotherly love, major FE: Awakening spoilers.
1. Chapter I: Arrival

The sun shone brightly over what appeared to be a never-ending field with a pathway leading to the long building situated in the center. It was a huge building, many stories high with even more beneath the ground floor. Above the main entrance, two doors labeled "Veterans" and "Newcomers" respectively, was a dark circle with two lines struck through it, one vertically and one horizontally. Scattered around nearby the entrance were creatures of all shapes and sizes, some humanoid, others just bizarre, and many in between. A few looked up at the sight of a sparkling circle acting as a portal a short distance away as it flashed brightly.

When it died down, it revealed three figures standing within: Two boys and a woman. Or, more specifically, two angels and a goddess.

"So this it, huh?" the goddess of Light, Palutena, said with a smile on her face.

"Yep!" Pit grinned, his arms resting behind his head. "Welcome to Smash, Lady Palutena! You too, Pittoo."

"Seriously, STOP calling me that," Dark Pit grumbled, crossing his arms with a usual scowl on his face. "It's already bad enough that everyone back home calls me that stupid nickname. I don't need it to spread to other worlds." Pit ignored his doppelganger's sour mood, turning his attention instead to the goddess as she observed the other gathered arrivals.

"Wow," she marveled. "So you know all these fighters?"

"Well, not all of them," Pit replied as he saw a few unfamiliar faces mixed in with those he did know. "But- OH!" His grin brightened as his gaze fell on two elf-like people, one dressed in a green tunic with a sword and shield on his back and the other garbed in a beautiful dress and a bit of golden armor. "Over there!" He hurried over to them with Palutena following, an amused smile on her face as she observed her captain. "Link! Princess Zelda!" he called, catching the Hylians' attention. Link glanced back warily while Zelda smiled, though her hero relaxed once he found the source of the call.

"Hello, Pit," the princess greeted with a dip of her head. "Who might this be?"

"Allow me to introduce Lady Palutena, goddess of Light," Pit replied dutifully. "Lady Palutena, this is Princess Zelda and the hero Link. They hail from…" he squinted one eye in thought, trying to recall everything he'd learned about his fellow challengers in the last tournament. "Hyrule, right?"

"That's right," Zelda nodded. "It's an honor and pleasure, Lady Palutena. I must say I never expected to be facing a goddess here!" Link blinked and smiled at her, and she chuckled and shook her head.

"Oh, I've been told I'll have to hold back a bit," Palutena replied. "More than anything, I'm excited to see what Pit has spoken of so fondly after he returned last time."

"Gotta admit I was a little surprised when you got an invitation," Pit admitted. "But I'm just gonna have to make sure nothing happens to you! Tournament or no, I'm still the captain of your guard!"  
>"What about when you two face off in battle?" Zelda wondered, tilting her head to the side, and Pit's expression fell.<p>

"Oh, right," he said sheepishly, and Palutena laughed as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, don't worry, Pit. I'll make sure not to rough you up too much!" she teased, making his face flush slightly.

"Speaking of which," he glanced around, "Where'd Pittoo go?"

"Who?" Zelda asked, and Pit turned back to her.

"Oh, Pittoo? He's…" He looked up at his goddess. "I don't know, how would you describe him?"

"He's essentially a darker clone of Pit," she explained. The Hylians exchanged a look and Link stiffened, frowning. "What's wrong?"

"We've had our share of experiences with monsters like that," Zelda said.

"Pittoo is NOT a monster!" Pit snapped. "He's just a little… different. I mean, yeah, he can be kind of hostile sometimes, but he's got a good heart." Link's gaze darkened, like he wasn't convinced, and Zelda sighed softly.

"If you say so, Pit. Just… Be careful. I'd hate to see anything happen to you."

Meanwhile, the portal bringing in the new arrivals flashed once again, revealing a man and woman both armed with swords. The woman looked around, her blue eyes filled with wonder, and the man stepped closer to her side as his dark coat billowed slightly in the breeze passing through the field.

"It seems we've arrived safely," he said, and she nodded.

"Yes," she agreed. "Though I do worry how Father will fare without us while we're gone." He smiled.

"Don't worry so much, Lucina. He's a strong and compassionate leader. Things won't completely fall apart while we're away, and if he needs a strategy, Morgan will be there to suggest something. And I promised him I'd look after you while we're here, so you can bet I won't let anything happen to you." She smiled softly as she turned her head to him.

"Thank you, Robin. In the meantime, this tournament will certainly prepare us to battle anything that comes our way. Shall we take a look around?"

"Sure." They started toward the main building, taking in the sights of the different fighters- a mouse-like creature, a pink ball, a figure covered head to toe in orange armor or some kind. "Okay, I never thought I'd see anything stranger than the Risen, but this place takes the cake."

"Indeed," she agreed. "Are all worlds so different?"

"Well, not entirely, from the looks of it," Robin pointed out. "Like those look like humans over there. …Except those men are awfully short." Lucina chuckled as she looked at the mustached men in red and green he had pointed to.

"Hey, Marth!"

She stopped short and whirled around, searching for the source of the voice, dumbfounded.

"How would anyone here know I took that name?" she wondered, and Robin shrugged. Her gaze came to rest on a muscular swordsman in a red cape with a headband tied around his head, and as she followed the direction he was heading, she about stopped breathing.

"R-Robin…" she stuttered as she observed the man standing a bit of a distance away, a sword with a golden hilt sheathed away at his hip and his striking blue eyes friendly as he waved at the other approaching swordsman. "It… It can't be."

"What?" Robin wondered, looking at her before following her gaze. "Huh. That guy looks a lot like you, doesn't he?" Her voice caught in her throat as she nodded.

"I… I think that's him," she managed to say in a weak voice. "Hero-King Marth." Robin blinked, his jaw slacking open.

"…Whoa." Both the Ylisseans continued to observe the man as he began conversing with the other swordsman, a dignified smile on his face as he held himself tall, confident, and refined. It was an almost stark contrast to the other swordsman and his gruff, laid-back posture. Robin cleared his throat after a bit of time and nudged her. "So, are you just going to gape at him or are you going to go say 'hi?'"

She looked at the tactician briefly, biting her lip until her curiosity finally got the best of her. She slowly made her way over to the swordsmen, and the one who had caught her eye fell silent as his eyes widened once he spotted her.

"What?" the other swordsman wondered, turning around and finding his answer rather quickly. "Uh, I remember you saying you have a sister. Is this her?"

"No, I'm afraid not," the blue-haired swordsman replied. "…Pardon me for staring, miss. But, if I may be so bold, I'd say you're about as confused as I am."

"Um…" Lucina's mind blanked, lost for words until Robin elbowed her gently. "M-My apologies, but I have to ask… A-Are you the Hero-King?"

"Er, I suppose that title has been passed around back in the land I hail from," he replied. "Though I was only recently crowned king of Archanea. My name is Marth." She let out a heavy breath as she stared at him, stunned into awed silence.

"Lucina," Robin hissed lightly in a whisper, shaking her from her thoughts.

"Right," she shook her head. "Lord Marth, it's such an honor to meet you. My name is Lucina. I… Speaking bluntly, I am a distant descendant of your bloodline by a thousand years." Now it was Marth's turn to stare at her.

"A thousand years," he repeated.

"Yes," she nodded. "Um…" She unsheathed the sword she carried. "This is my era's Falchion, if that helps. The hilt was broken and reforged, but the blade is timeless."

"…May I?" he asked, gesturing to it, and she nodded and handed it to him. He took a step back as he gazed at the blade, then began a graceful but powerful demonstration of his swordsmanship. A moment later, he smiled and chuckled softly as he turned back to her. "There's no doubt about it. While its appearance may have changed, this is Falchion." He returned the sword to her, his smile growing. "So what you say is true. It's… humbling to know my legacy will live on for so long. And it's a pleasure to meet you, Lucina."

"The pleasure and honor are mine, milord," she replied. "Oh, and this man accompanying me is Robin. He's a brilliant tactician and one of my father Chrom's closest allies."

"Well met, Lord Marth," Robin said with a dip of his head, and Marth nodded as well.

"Well, let me welcome you to this Smash tournament," he said. "I look forward to seeing your swordplay, Lucina. And please, you may just call me Marth." Lucina giggled softly and briefly before recovering her composure, and she turned to the other swordsman standing there awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt or exclude you, sir," she said, and he shrugged.

"Eh, meeting your heroic, legendary ancestor doesn't happen everyday," he replied. "I'm Ike. I'm from Crimea on the continent of Tellius."

"Don't sell yourself short, Ike," Marth smiled. "This man has challenged a goddess and lived to tell the tale."

"…Ashera?" Robin guessed, and Ike nodded.

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"You're the Radiant Hero," the tactician said bluntly. "Even in our land, I've read tales of your heroism and how you brought peace to your continent. It's an impressive legend, though I admit I questioned its truth."

"Well, I can vouch," Ike said with a tilt of his head. "But damn, you guys know me in another WORLD?"

"Legend states you came to our world from another," Robin explained. "Probably through the Outrealm Gate. Dunno how beyond that."

"Okay, okay," Ike held up his hands. "Probably better I don't know about my future. Wouldn't want to screw it up or anything." He sighed and looked around, his eyebrows rising as something caught his attention. "Is that… Hey, Pit! That you?" The other three looked in the direction he had called and found a black-haired, red-eyed angel with shadowy wings. He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Yeesh, what happened to you?"

"I'm not-"

"PITTOO!" another voice called, and Lucina turned again to find another angel- this one with white wings, blue eyes, and brown hair- hurrying over. She blinked at the startling resemblance between them. Once he reached the dark angel, he hunched over, panting. "You really shouldn't just wander off like that," he said between gasps.

"I can take care of myself," Dark Pit spat.

"I know, but- oh, forget it. You barely listen to me. Just be careful, okay?" He turned to the assembled sword wielders. "Anyway, good to see you again, Ike, Prince Marth."

"Speaking strictly, I've been crowned king," Marth replied lightly. "But please, just Marth is fine." Pit grinned.

"Well, congratulations!" He turned his gaze to the Ylisseans, and his grin faded as he stared at the princess. After a quick but awkward moment, he shook his head and his smile returned. "Don't think I've seen you around before. I'm Pit."

"Lucina," she replied with a dip of her head. "It's a pleasure, Pit."

"Likewise," he said and turned to the tactician. "And you are?"

"Robin. Lucina and I are from the same world. Now…" He tilted his head. "What's up with your evil twin here?"

"I'm not evil," Dark Pit grumbled.

"Yeah, I'm gonna need to figure out how to explain this quickly," Pit sighed. "He's-"

"FIGHTERS!" a voice boomed, silencing everyone in the vicinity, and up in the air above them, a giant white gloved hand appeared, its wrist fading into nothingness.

"Uh," Robin grunted. "That's a giant hand."

"Master Hand," Marth said. "He's more or less in charge of all this."

"WELCOME TO THE FOURTH SMASH TOURNAMENT," Master Hand went on, suggesting he had no voice suitable for indoor situations. "IT PLEASES ME TO SEE YOU HAVE ALL ARRIVED SAFELY. THE BATTLES WILL BEGIN IN TWO DAYS' TIME. TOMORROW, I EXPECT YOU TO TRAIN AND PREPARE YOURSELVES ALONG WITH FINDING YOUR BEARINGS HERE AND ADJUSTING TO YOUR QUARTERS."

"Does he always shout like that?" Dark Pit wondered, and Pit shrugged and nodded.

"NOW, THIS TIME AROUND, WE HAVE A GREATER NUMBER OF FEMALES INVOLVED IN THE TOURNAMENT," Master Hand continued in a nearly deafening voice. "TO ACHNOWLEDGE AND CELEBRATE, WE WILL BE HOLDING A SMASH BALL THIS EVENING." The veterans of the previous tournament all readied their weapons at the mention of the words "Smash Ball." "NOT THAT KIND OF SMASH BALL!" the hand scolded. "A FORMAL, YOU BLITHERING IDIOTS. I WANT YOU ALL TO GET ACQUAINTED AND BE ON YOUR BEST BEHAVIOR. PROVE YOU HAVE SKILLS BOTH ON AND OFF THE BATTLEFIELD."

"You've got to be joking," Dark Pit snorted.  
>"I DO NOT JOKE!" Master Hand's outburst nearly knocked the dark angel off his feet. "NOW, GO ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS AND PREPARE. ONE AGAIN, MATCHES WILL BEGIN IN TWO DAYS' TIME." With that, he faded from view, leaving any assembled newcomers stunned into silence.<p>

"Well," Robin cleared his throat. "Can't say I anticipated that."

"No," Lucina agreed. "A giant hand runs this tournament?"

"You'd best expect the unexpected here," Marth advised. "Honestly, by the time this is over, I'll be surprised if anything really fazes you."

"That'll be helpful back home," Lucina said. "Thank you, Lord Marth."

"Once again," he smiled, "Just Marth is fine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like a chance to situate myself in my quarters before this formal this evening."

"It sounds like fun," a new voice spoke up, and they turned to find Palutena joining them. "Don't you think, Pit?"

"Sure," he nodded. "Though I'm better at fighting than dancing." He glanced to Lucina again briefly before quickly averting his gaze and stretching. "Hey, Marth. Before you go, let me get this out of the way. This is Lady Palutena, the goddess of Light." Marth turned to the goddess and bowed.

"An honor, milady," he said, and she smiled. "Now. Lucina, Robin, I'd be happy to help you find your bearings. This place is a bit disorienting at first."

"Thank you," Lucina smiled. "I'll gladly take you up on that."

"Me too," Robin agreed and turned to the other fighters. "So, see you all around?"

"Yep, and you'd better be ready!" Pit laughed. "Anyway. Lady Palutena, Pittoo, I can show you around too." Palutena nodded, but he glanced around and found his darker counterpart had disappeared. Again. "Ugh… Pittoo!" With that, he raced off again, and Lucina smiled as she watched him go before following her ancestor to the building with Robin at her side.


	2. Chapter II: A Night Away From Battle

"But I can't FIGHT in this!" Pit was complaining as he and Palutena made their way to the training hall in the lowest floor of their temporary home with the other Smashers. "I'll trip!"

"You'll trip anyway," Palutena teased, ruffling his hair and effectively wiping out any effort he'd made to make it look a little more decent than usual. He grumbled, readjusting his laurel crown.

"Easy for you to say," he replied. "You're used to looking all fancy and you look good in anything." She smiled.

"Aww, well, thank you, Pit. You don't look half-bad yourself tonight." He shrugged, smoothing out the long white robe he now wore and adjusted the gold, lightly armored belt around his waist. Palutena, meanwhile, had donned a white gown embroidered with many organic designs at its hems and long silver gloves along with her usual crown and gold necklace. "Now, put your best foot forward, Captain! We represent Skyworld and our entire world tonight!"

"Then maybe it's a good thing Pittoo didn't come along," he muttered as they entered the training hall, though the usual equipment had been cleared out and sparkling lights blinked overhead as music from an unseen source drifted through the air. Much as Master Hand had a way of being persuasive, it was evident not all the Smashers thought the ball was worth the trouble. Most of the attendants were human in some form, though he saw Kirby trying not to get stepped on and, funnily enough, R.O.B. nearby scanning the crowd.

"Hello, Lady Palutena, Pit!" a voice greeted, and they both found Zelda approaching them with Link a pace behind. While the princess wore her usual gown save her armor and had curled her hair a bit, Link had removed his hat and put on a less battle-worn tunic more akin to the ones Pit usually found Marth or Ike wearing. His hair, like the angel's, seemed impossible to truly tame down, but it was obvious he'd made an effort if nothing else. He dipped his head respectfully to the goddess.

"Good evening, Princess Zelda, Link," Palutena replied with a friendly smile. "Link, Pit told me earlier that you've been in every one of these tournaments. Is that true?" He nodded.

"One of twelve fighters to be able to say the same," Zelda agreed. "I came in at the second tournament."

"And the other eleven, are they here this time around?" Palutena asked.

"I think so," Pit replied, counting off on his fingers. "Link, Mario, Yoshi, DK, Fox, Pikachu, Luigi, Ness, Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff, Kirby, and Samus. They kind of hold a lot of respect around here, even if people don't always show it."

"That's impressive," the goddess marveled. "I look forward to facing you in battle, Hero." He smiled and dipped his head, and Pit's mind drifted as the goddess and the princess continued their conversation, looking around at the other Smashers that actually bothered to show up this evening, catching sight of a couple of blue-haired royals on the other side of the hall.

"I never thought I'd see the day where you put on a dress," Robin remarked, and Lucina shoved him lightly. While the tactician had dressed himself in a simple dark tunic and white leggings with his usual boots, the princess wore a flowing white dress laced up her sides and exposing the upper part of her back.

"You look stunning," Marth said with what appeared to be a proud smile as he held his arms behind his back. "I've always found that, sometimes, it's nice to be able to step away from battle for a time and simply enjoy myself."

"It's not an easy notion when the world is on the brink of calamity," Lucina mumbled darkly.

"Don't worry, Lucina," Robin told her. "Chrom will be fine. Just focus on having a good time tonight!"

"Mm… That reminds me, Lord Marth." Simply calling him by his name alone, even if he'd all but insisted that she do so, just felt strange and disrespectful to her. "If I recall, Master Hand said we have tomorrow as a reprieve before the matches start the following day." He nodded. "If you're not busy, might I ask that we have a chance to talk? I'd love to hear more about your heroism beyond our time's legends."

"Of course," he replied warmly. "Though in return, I hope you'll tell me of the world my kingdom will one day become. I'd also like to see your swordsmanship, if you feel comfortable with that."

"Certainly," she smiled. "It would be an honor. Perhaps you can even teach me a few things!"

"Like you need to be any more like him," Robin teased, and she elbowed him gently in the ribs. Marth smiled and shook his head.

"You know, Robin, you remind me of a close friend of mine back home. I'm glad you have someone like him back home, Lucina." She nodded and glanced at her companion, though turned around at the sound of approaching footsteps to find the white-winged angel she had met earlier. He dipped his head once he had joined them.

"Good evening, Pit," Marth greeted. "Did you ever find that dark angel you were looking for?"

"Yeah," he replied. "He's… not exactly social. So he's back in our room."

"You share a room with that guy?" Robin blinked. "I thought Master Hand tried to keep enemies separate from each other." Pit sighed heavily.

"Pittoo isn't my enemy! I… Okay, I'm not exactly sure what he is, but we're on decent terms with each other. He's not evil, he's not a villain, and he's not going to pull some dastardly plot to try to take over the world." He paused, and when he spoke again, his tone was much lighter. "Anyway, I didn't mean to interrupt whatever you all were talking about."

"Nothing important," Marth said. "Is there something you needed?" The angel's face flushed a slight shade red as he turned to the princess and her curious gaze.

"Uh, I was kind of wondering if you wanted to dance," he mumbled, and Lucina blinked as Robin inadvertently stiffened at her side. Pit's face steadily turned redder as he awaited her response, and she smiled.

"I'd love to," she replied, and he brightened like the sun emerging from the clouds as he offered his hand.

"Now, hang on!" Robin interrupted, stepping between them a bit. "I promised her father that I'd look after her while we're in this tournament. You don't ask a princess to dance without first gaining her father's approval."

"Robin…" Lucina protested lightly, though she was amused by how seriously he was taking the role Chrom had given him.

"Huh," Pit frowned. "Well, then I guess that means her father isn't here and I can't ask him." A triumphant but reserved smile appeared on Robin's face. "Marth, are you okay with me asking your descendant for a dance?"

"Certainly," Marth chuckled. "I grant you permission on behalf of my distant grandson." Robin's smile vanished and he blinked, his expression blank.

"Thank you, Lord Marth," Lucina said with a laugh as she curtseyed to him, and he bowed briefly in return.

"Wha- But- You can't- I…" Robin blubbered as he watched Lucina take Pit's offered hand and they headed toward the middle of the hall. "Damn it."

"Relax, Robin," Marth advised. "Lucina is a grown woman and I know from the last tournament that Pit is quite trustworthy. And his youth is misleading. He's older than he appears. Though I'm sure her father appreciates you looking out for her."

Robin stiffened suddenly, his body freezing as Marth placed his hand on the tactician's shoulder, and his hands clenched into fists as his mind blanked and a twinge of fear shot down his spine. Marth hesitantly withdrew his hand, concern in his eyes.

"Robin?" he beckoned. "What's wrong?" Robin shook his head quickly and turned to the Hero-King.

"Nothing," he replied as he tried to relax with a bit of success. "I don't know what that was about. Sorry for worrying you." Marth nodded slowly and turned his attention to his descendant a short distance away.

"I should probably mention I'm a lot better at fighting than dancing," Pit told her as he took her hand and placed his other at her waist, standing slightly awkwardly about a head shorter than her.

"If it makes you feel any better, neither am I," she said with a brief smile. " I never really had time to practice while fighting Risen almost constantly."

"Risen?" he echoed.

"Basically the undead brought back by dark magic," she sighed. "It's awful."

"Huh," he shrugged. "Reminds me of fighting the Underworld Army. Except I hope you're not going up against them by yourself."

"No, I have my friends and allies," she replied. "Though without my father, I don't think we'll be able to win. The Risen and Grima have nearly driven us to extinction." Pit's eyes widened with alarm.

"That's awful! I wish I could be there to help you. It's basically my job to protect humans." She smiled.

"Thank you, Pit. I appreciate the thought. Now, if you don't mind. I'd like to focus more on making this an enjoyable evening."

"Right," he grinned. "No point in just standing here." With that, his lips pursed with concentration as he tried not to make a fool out of himself, and they began to fall into step in time with the music in the air. Neither was exactly the most graceful dancer at the start, but they managed to find a decent pace together after a bit of trial and error. Pit's flushed face admittedly amused the princess, and he leaned up on the tips of his toes to allow her a bit more room to spin before coming back to the flats of his feet and the two spread apart before coming back together as he returned his hand to her waist and she to his shoulder. She caught sight of Robin trying not to steam as he observed them and Marth had a smile on his face, giving her an encouraging nod when he caught her gaze. As the song ended, they came to a stop and Pit smiled sheepishly as he let his hands fall to his sides.

"Thank you," he said, and she tilted her head.

"For what?"

"Just… for giving me a chance. I know I don't look like much."

"I don't think I would say that," she told him. "Though I am curious. Are you… Fourteen? Fifteen?"

"Thirty-five," he said with a face straight as an arrow, and she stared at him. Her bewildered gaze made him snort softly and grin. "Yeah, yeah, I'm a lot older than I look. Just part of being an angel."

That's incredible," she breathed and smiled. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you or anything."

"Eh, after last time, I kind of expect it," he replied with a shrug before taking her hand and kissing it briefly, then bowed. "But I can be mature! …Sometimes." She laughed, her pale face tinting a slight shade pink.

"Well, Pit, I look forward to getting to know you better while we're here. I'd love to hear some of your stories."

"Which ones? Getting turned into a ring? Eaten by Hades? Shot out of a cannon?" She again stared at him for a moment before wholeheartedly laughing, and he grinned warmly. "All true. Seriously."

"Sounds like you've led quite a life!" she snickered. "I certainly would like to hear more later." He nodded.

"For now, though, I won't keep you from your security too long," he joked, glancing back to Robin. "See you around, Lucina."

"And you as well, Pit." She dipped her head to him and he waved before they parted ways, her returning to Marth and Robin and him bound for Palutena's side.


	3. Chapter III: History and Legend

**Author's Note: **Thanks so much for all the encouraging feedback, readers! Anyway, prepare for a quick crash course in Archanean/Ylissean history this chapter. Also, apologies for using multiple language translations- hopefully it won't happen too often.

* * *

><p>The sun shone gloriously the following morning, partially masked by wispy clouds in the sky over the endless field outside the main building of the tournament. Lucina made her way through the grass with a smile on her face as she took in the warmth of the air and her gaze fell on a figure a short distance away, his cape tossing in the wind. She approached him quietly and was only a few paces away when he turned to face her with a gentle smile himself.<p>

"Good morning, Lucina," he greeted with a dip of his head.

"Good morning to you, Lord Marth," she replied with her own nod.

"Did you sleep well for your first night here?" he asked as she came to stand at his side, overlooking the vast, never-ending field before them. "I remember having quite a bit of trouble adjusting to things here when I first came during the second tournament."

"I admit I was a but restless. But once I fell asleep, I slept quite soundly."

"Good," he nodded and turned his blue gaze on her. "Now, what is it you'd like me to tell you about?" She lowered her head in thought, her hand coming to rest on the hilt of the blade at her hip.

"I suppose I shouldn't beat around the bush," she thought aloud. "How did you manage to defeat Grima?"

"Who?" Marth asked, and a crestfallen look appeared on her face.

"Grima," she repeated. "The Fell Dragon?" He frowned.

"I'm sorry, Lucina. I've battled plenty of dragons that followed the Shadow Dragon Medeus, but I haven't faced any named Grima." She didn't immediately reply.

"Then… You haven't yet," she realized. "In the time you come from, you haven't faced him. I know you did, Lord Marth. Everyone in Ylisse does. Your heroism in defeating him is legendary."

"Where exactly is Ylisse?" he wondered. "I haven't ever heard of such a place."

"Ylisse is a Haildom in the continent of the same name ruled by the Exalt descended from your bloodline," Lucina explained. "It is where I hail from and my father, Chrom, is the current Exalt. We share the continent with Plegia and Regna Ferox." She paused. "Stories say that you unified the continent and ruled over it as one single king, and all looked to you for guidance. But when you neared the time of your death, you claimed that one man should not have power over the entire land, and so it was divided again after your passing. The Fire Emblem's gems, as well, were separated from the Emblem itself and given to the different nations while Lady Tiki kept one in her possession. You ordered this to be done as a symbol and part of a promise that if the Fire Emblem was ever needed again to save the continent, the different countries would come together as one again in defense against such a calamity." Marth took a bit of time to ponder all she had told him, lowering his head slightly.

"That certainly does sound like me," he smiled. "Tell me, have you met Tiki?"

"Yes," she replied. "She serves as the Voice of the Divine Dragon and has told me a bit about her journeys with you." She chuckled. "She speaks so fondly of you."

"She's one of my closest friends and allies," he agreed. "Though I can't imagine how much older she must look in your time."

"Actually, she appears to be maybe a few years older than me," Lucina said, and Marth blinked.

"I suppose I've forgotten that Divine Dragons live a LONG time," he said with a helpless smile as he shook his head. "Either way, I'm glad you were able to meet her." Lucina nodded, though her smile faded. "What is it, Lucina?"

"I… There's something I should probably tell you," she admitted, reaching back to tie up her hair as he watched her curiously. Once she had finished, she appeared to have hair about the length of his if not a slight bit longer, and she donned a dark blue mask decorated with golden curves. Marth smiled softly.

"Funny," he remarked. "I bet if you walked around like that, people would mistake you for me."

"That's the thing," she said, glad her sheepish gaze was hidden. "I… Actually took your name after my parents' deaths." His brow rose, though he didn't seem upset. "When I took up Falchion to lead the war against Grima, I prayed to you that you would grant me even a fraction of the power you used to destroy him before. That… must seem silly to you, though." She removed the mask and allowed her hair to fall back down, a slight tint of pink on her pale face.

"Not at all," he replied. "I'm honored, to be honest." He frowned, his eyes darkening. "I wish I could do more than to simply leave you Falchion and a world burdened by such darkness. To think that I condemned my descendants to battle a monstrosity like that because I was unable to truly destroy it… Please, forgive me." Her gaze lost focus as her father's words from what felt like so many years ago again echoed in her ears.

_"You deserved better from me than one sword and a world of troubles. I'm sorry." _

_ No, not now…_ she protested silently against the hot water stinging her eyes and twisted away from him, bowing her head and placing her hand over her nose and mouth.

"Lucina, look at me," Marth said softly, and, hesitantly, she complied and peaked up to him, the soft concern in his eyes. He stepped closer to her and gently pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair gently. Her tears spilled over as she buried her face in his shoulder and embraced him tightly. "I don't know how much I can do for you," he mumbled. "But I swear I will do everything I can to help you save your father and the world we both call home." He pulled her back, taking her face in his hands and wiping away one streak of tears with a reassuring smile. "If I'm supposedly capable of defeating Grima, then I have no doubt that you'll be able to as well." She averted her gaze, and his smile faded.

"…I remember after I liberated Altea during the War of Shadows and I discovered my mother had been killed and my sister kidnapped. I told myself and everyone else then that I was a prince before I was a son or a brother." She looked up to him again, her eyes sparkling. "Don't feel like you have to carry the same burden, Lucina. At least with me, you can be Chrom's daughter first. You and I are family, even if distantly. I know what it's like to have the fate of the world on your shoulders, to bear the weight Falchion brings, and to have to put on a strong face no matter how strong your grief and doubt on because of all the people relying on you. You can share your burden and worries with me." She smiled weakly, wiping her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Th-thank you, Lord Marth. I don't know how I could ever repay you for your kindness…" He shook his head.

"Just hold your head high, but realize you don't have to face this alone." She nodded, straightening up.

"You said yesterday that you wanted to see my swordplay?" she recalled, her voice steadily gaining back its usual strength.

"If you feel up to it, then yes," he agreed. She nodded and unsheathed her blade, and he did the same. "And, of course, the best way for me to help you is to know how you fight. Which means I need to know your strengths and weaknesses, and the quickest way for me to assess that is to face you myself." He paused and chuckled. "Though I can't say I ever thought I'd be sparring with someone who would turn Falchion against me!"

"If it's any consolation, I'm certain my father thought the same thing," she replied lightly. "I remember how shocked he was when he first realized I carried a sword identical to his- one that is meant to be unique."

"I'm sure." A challenging glint flickered in his eyes. "Prepare yourself, Lucina. And don't worry for me. Don't hold back!" She inhaled deeply and readied her blade, setting herself into her battle stance as he did the same. She lunged for him, stabbing her sword forth, though he knocked it away and barely missed nicking her torso with the tip of his blade. He followed up with a second slash and she performed a back-flip, then rushed at him again and managed to knock him off balance and held back a blow to his arm. He grit his teeth and nearly struck her in the chest after managing to throw her off, though he held back and only touched the blade against her.

"I-Incredible," she breathed, stiffening until he lowered his sword and dipped his head.

"Don't take it too hard," he advised. "I can tell you were holding back."

"Well, I don't exactly want to hurt my direct ancestor," she pointed out, and he chuckled.

"Hm… That blow to my arm would certainly have thrown me off if you hadn't held back. My opponents don't usually slip by me that easily. You're quite strong and nimble, Lucina."

"Thank you," she smiled. "I can see the Ylissean royal fencing style even in your swordplay," she marveled. "I can't believe it's survived so long."

"Nor can I," he agreed. "I can see my own style in yours, even if only slightly. It's… mindboggling that I'm held so highly even so long after my passing."

"You are the Hero-King," she smiled. "The man who almost singlehandedly brought peace to the continent by slaying the dragons." Marth's gaze lost focus before he shook his head lightly.

"A god-like king," he thought aloud. "An unshakable leader who could give the people hope that he would bring them through anything. Kris was right."

"Kris?" Lucina echoed.

"My shadow and closest friend," Marth explained. "I trust him with my life. He did so much for me during the War of Heroes and has vowed to remain at my side until his life comes to an end."

"Sounds like the relationship my father and Robin have," Lucina realized. "They swore to be two halves of a greater whole."

"That's essentially how Kris and I are. The only other person I trust so wholeheartedly and undoubtedly is my wife, Shiida."

"Lady Shiida," Lucina said. "The Pegasus Knight who served the Hero-King with unrivaled ferocity and loved him just as much. It's said she brought death from the sky, but for every enemy she struck down, she won two more over to his side. The love you two shared is almost as legendary as your actions against the dragons." Marth smiled warmly, his eyes shining with affection for his love.

"Now THAT is a legacy I'm proud to leave behind after my passing. I wish you could meet her, Lucina. She would undoubtedly love you. And I hope you can find someone to share such a bond with as I do with her. I could never begin to repay her for all she did for me to support me through both the War of Shadows and the War of Heroes. I would never forgive myself if something happened to her under my command." He paused, his smile vanishing. "Tell me, do you know of Artemis's Curse?"

"No, sir," she shook her head.

"It's said that when my ancestor, Anri, first took up Falchion to slay Shadow Dragon Medeus, he fell in love with the princess of Archanea, Artemis, and she with him. At the time, Anri was only a peasant in the land that would become Altea, so the courts and the people would never approve of a union between them. Meanwhile, Cartas of Aruelis had brought up an army to fight for Archanea and she gave him the Fire Emblem, the Conqueror's Proof, to grant him the right to lead the united nations of Archanea in battle. Anri, on the other hand, was the only one capable of defeating Medeus, but could not be granted the Fire Emblem. Artemis cursed it, calling it the end of war, but also the end of love. When the Fire Emblem changes hands to save the continent, its holders are said to be doomed never to be able to stay with their true loves. I was able to escape such a curse, but the princess who gave me the Emblem was not so lucky."

"How terrible," Lucina breathed. "I've never heard such a story. I had no idea."

"Both the Fire Emblem and Falchion carry a terrible burden," Marth said with a lowered head. "One our bloodline seems fated to carry for eternity."

"One I will gladly bear to bring peace to Ylisse and to the world," Lucina replied firmly, and his smile returned. "I won't be selfish. No matter the cost, I will see light and peace return."

"Well said," he nodded. "And, again, I will do all I can to aid you. But in the meantime, I won't take up all your time today. You'd best spend the rest of it gathering your bearings and getting used to the way the tournament will work. And when we face each other, we can use the matches as a means of training without worrying about injury."

"How so?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"There are measures, somehow, put in place by Master Hand to ensure that no matter what happens to us during battle, injuries will be only temporary and will not hinder us during the matches themselves. So… You don't have to be concerned if you slice my arm again."

"Very well," she chuckled. "Thank you, Lord Marth. I look forward to facing you." With that, he started back to the main building and she followed behind him.

_The Fire Emblem hasn't changed hands, has it? _she pondered. _Then again, Aunt Emmeryn gave it to Father just before she was sentenced to die… Does that count? Will we truly have to bear this curse? _She frowned. _And the Grimleal did manage to steal it for a time after Father's death. It wasn't until later that we recovered it… _She shook her head and picked up her pace, deciding it wasn't worth worrying about when there was so much more at stake.


	4. Chapter IV: Socializing

**Author's Note: **Ah, Fire Emblem and Kid Icarus. Two of my favorite game series that need so much more love and every chapter I write of this makes me wonder how many people I'm confusing. If you have questions, please feel free to ask me either in a review or a private message and I'll do my best to get back to you as soon as I can. Now, let's see how many somewhat obscure RPGs I can fit into one conversation. Oh well, at least I'm not trying to shoehorn in Baroque.

Also, to get it out of the way: *insert the usual obligatory note about this not being intended to be Pitcest/PitxDark Pit here*

* * *

><p>The day had finally arrived: The official start to the tournament. Most of the Smashers had gathered in the dining hall for breakfast, inadvertently gravitating toward those they felt a little more comfortable around. Needless to say, most of the swordsmen of the tournament spent a lot of their social time together and now sat at a decently sized table along with Zelda and Palutena.<p>

"Uh, Robin?" Lucina beckoned as she stared at the tactician with his face nearly collapsed in a bowl of oatmeal. "Are you okay?" She placed her hand on his shoulder and shook him gently.

"I'm awake, I'm awake!" He bolted upright, earning a few snickers courtesy of the small streak of drool on the corner of his mouth and chin. He let out an enormous yawn and shook his head. "Just didn't sleep all that well last night for some reason. Weird dreams."

"Care to talk about them?" the Ylissean princess asked, and he shook his head again.

"No, I won't bother you with them. Anyway, what were we talking about?"

"We were bringing up what the strangest things we've ever done or fought were," Ike replied in between scarfing down a helping of meat.

"I have a feeling I'll lose that match," Marth said with a smile. "Considering I think most of us here have battled dragons. Though fighting alongside a shape-shifter was interesting."

"I think the Risen take the prize for 'strangest things we've ever fought,'" Lucina said, and Robin nodded.

"Yeah, fighting an army of the Undead brought back by dark magic hasn't exactly been fun." He paused. "Speaking of which, I could use a jolt. Hey, Lucina, you've got magic in you, right? You just haven't developed it too much. Here." He pulled forth his Thunder tome and handed it to her. "Give me a shock, will you?"

"What?!" she stared at him and shoved the tome back against his chest. "I'm not going to shoot Thunder at you! Wake up! If you're really that tired, go back to bed."

"Can't," he replied. "I've been assigned one of the first matches this morning. Now," he glanced around the dining hall, "Where's that mouse, Pikachu?"

"ROBIN!"

"Kidding, kidding," he smiled sheepishly and returned to his food. "Mostly. Anyway, so yeah. Our weirdest things are the Risen. Can anybody beat an army of zombies?"

"Link once told me about a giant insect he had to fight," Zelda recalled, and the Hylian hero at her side shivered in disgust. "It's one thing to have to stab something with a sword, but having to bite that monster?"

"Wait, why?" Ike inquired.

"Under certain circumstances, Link takes the form of a wolf," the princess explained. "Unfortunately, he was in that form when he fought that monstrosity." Link sighed and shoved the uneaten portion of his breakfast away, to which Pit and Ike both helped themselves once he gave them an approving nod.

"How about living in a world where the terrain is made up of the bodies of two gods locked in combat?" a newcomer by the name of Shulk asked as he sat down at their table. "Then having to travel with a sword that makes you see the future whether you want it to or not while fighting a bunch of mechanical monsters?"

"You wanna talk gods?" Ike laughed. "How about having one turn everybody to stone?"

"What, only once?" Pit grinned. "So you beat ONE god, Ike. I got eaten by the lord of the Underworld and had to fight my way through his bowels to destroy his heart! And it STILL didn't kill him!" The other fighters at the table exchanged a few looks as Palutena snickered.

"I think he wins," Marth said, and a few of the other swordsmen nodded.

"Don't know whether that's a good thing," Pit joked and took a bite out of a pastry he swiped from Link's plate. He glanced up as he spied his darker twin entering the dining hall from the adjacent kitchen and tried to catch his attention to no avail.

Dark Pit frowned as he scanned over the other Smashers, receiving several looks ranging from confusion to outright hostility. Needless to say, none of them were exactly friendly, even from the hero Pit had identified as Link at the table the swordsmen had gathered at. The dark angel sighed and glanced over to the other side of the hall where the supposed villains had taken their seats.

"Oh boy," he muttered as a proclaimed King of Evil named Ganondorf eyed him with expectations that he would join them. He shook his head, disgusted, and left the hall with his breakfast in hand.

"Pittoo!" Pit called as he stood up, but his twin didn't turn around. The white-winged angel sighed heavily and glanced up at Palutena, then Lucina, before snatching up the rest of his food. "I'll see you all later," he grumbled and dipped his head to his goddess before hurrying out of the hall himself and looked around for any sign of his doppelganger. He headed to the men's residence wing and peaked inside the room he shared with Dark Pit, but the red-eyed angel was nowhere to be found. He frowned and set his food down on the desk inside, crossing his arms in thought.

"Now, where the heck is he hiding…?" he pondered, wondering how he would find his twin until his gaze fell on Dark Pit's staff leaning up against the wall opposite the door. "Worth a shot," he shrugged and picked it up, taking a deep breath. Sure enough, he felt a sense from somewhere around the building and retrieved his food before following it through the halls.

It led him up a stairwell to the roof of the building where he found the dark angel sitting on the edge, picking at his food as he gazed at the sky. Pit approached him, and he sighed heavily.

"How the heck did you find me?" he inquired without bothering to turn around.

"With this," Pit replied, poking Dark Pit with the staff lightly. The dark angel turned around with an irritated gaze and jumped to his feet.

"Give me that," he snapped and swiped the staff back. "No touchy unless I say so, or I'll shoot you with it. Again."  
>"Please don't," Pit pleaded lightly with a smile as he held his hands up. "That thing really stings. Anyway, what are you doing up here?"<p>

"Trying to eat in peace," Dark Pit replied curtly as he sat down again, resting his staff behind him. "What about you?"

"I tried catching your attention before you left the dining hall, but that didn't work. Come on back down and join us!"

"Uh huh," Dark Pit spat. "How 'bout 'no?' You can't tell me you haven't noticed how a lot of them look at me, Pit. Every time I come into a room, I can FEEL them judging me. I don't care if they like me, but I wish they'd stop assuming I'm evil. Heck, even the bad guys seem like they just expect that I'm gonna join them or whatever."

"I… I guess some of them have had some personal issues with things kind of like you," Pit said as he sat down next to his twin. "I mean dark copies of them created by their enemies. So they just kind of assume you're like that too. But you're not! Heck, you punched Pandora in the face as soon as she tried to give you an order."

"You know I don't like being told what to do," Dark Pit grumbled. "But that's my point. They don't even give me a chance. I haven't said a word to most of them and they've already decided they hate me."

"I don't think they hate you," Pit insisted. "They just… Need to get to know you!" Dark Pit shook his head lightly.

"You really think that'll help? Honestly?" Under his twin's harsh glare, Pit's optimistic smile faded.

"I don't know," he admitted. "But neither of us will unless you give them a chance."

"I have to give THEM a chance?!" Dark Pit hissed. "Open your eyes, Pit-stain! THEY'RE the ones not giving ME a chance! You expect me to go sucking up to them?"

"N-No, of course not," Pit replied, flinching. "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I more meant that maybe you can at least try instead of just shutting everybody out like you usually do." He paused. "You're not alone, Pittoo. And no matter what, you've got me on your side." Dark Pit's glare softened and he sighed, wringing his hands together briefly.

"I know, Pit. And you know I've got your back too. I keep telling myself that I shouldn't care what they think of me, and again, I don't give a damn if they like me or not. But I'm NOT some evil clone of you. Just because my wings are dark doesn't mean my heart is."

"And we'll find a way to show them that," Pit said with a smile, putting his hand on his twin's shoulder. "Granted, I don't know how yet, but we'll figure something out. If the two of us can beat down mobs of monsters, we can handle this." Dark Pit smirked, looking at his counterpart from the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, and I've got to prove to everyone that I'm the better Pit." Pit blinked.

"Hey, hey, I'm the original!"

"Which usually has more bugs and flaws than the newer version."

"Oh, that's it!" Pit grinned with a challenging glint in his eye as he jumped up. "You and me, training match before the real stuff starts. Guess I've gotta remind you how many times I've kicked your butt!"

"Our Light vs. Dark record says otherwise," Dark Pit pointed out as he got to his feet and crossed his arms. "I always let you win any other time."

"Riiiiiiiiiight," Pit snorted. "Then let's do this!"

"You're on!" With that, Dark Pit retrieved his staff and the two angels half raced, half wrestled down through their temporary home, bound for the training hall.


	5. Chapter V: Rain of Death

The morning had just about ended when Dark Pit entered the Battlefield for his first match of the tournament, gripping his Silver Bow tightly with the rest of his weapons stashed away and ready for use should the need arise. He frowned as he observed the three other Smashers he was up against while a voice counted down to the beginning of the match. His opponents were a short mustachioed man with a red hat named Mario, the hero Link, and a woman encased in orange armor of some kind called Samus.

"Three of the originals," he grumbled and split his bow apart into two short swords.

"GO!" the announcer's voice boomed, and the three veterans immediately leapt into action, leaving the dark angel's mind scrambling to catch up as he found a ball of energy from Samus hitting him in the chest. Funnily enough, the pain was actually quite dull, and he scowled as he dropped down from his platform and rushed toward and slashed his blade through the nearest target, Mario. The plumber retaliated with a small explosion from his hand that sent the angel skidding back. Mario came toward him and he caught Link approaching quickly from behind. He struck toward the ground and hit Mario, then thrust his other blade back to strike Link within a heartbeat.

He sprinted forward and slashed up several times to keep Mario off the ground, but received a kick to the side from Samus before he could keep juggling the plumber. He turned his attention to the bounty hunter and found a missile heading straight for him, and he summoned up the Guardian Orbitars. The missile deflected off the shield cast and exploded once it hit her.

He let out a grunt as Link hit him with the Master Sword once the shields lowered, then stepped forward and struck him again hard. He flew back and did his best to break his momentum, then flapped his wings and managed to make it back to solid ground only to find Mario hitting him again with another blast that again launched him into the air. Once he made it back, he grit his teeth and pulled out his Electroshock Arm and rushed forth, hitting Mario and knocking him back as the angel landed. He dodged Samus's arm cannon and hit her hard with his blades, but found himself wrapped up in a small cyclone of wind accompanying a boomerang that pulled him back to meet a strong attack from Link's blade.

As he found himself launching straight toward the boundaries of the stage, he grit his teeth as he tried to focus on the ability he'd been told he had at his disposal. He focused on his wings and a pink light appeared around them, sending him flying back to the stage. He fell just short and grabbed onto the edge, flipping over it and slashing his blade at Mario. A claw of sorts shot toward him and grabbed him, pulling him in and Link struck him with the hilt of his sword. He let out an aggravated yell as Samus hit him from behind with a large shot of energy while he tried to struggle free, sending him flying off the stage and a blast of strange light erupted around him.

"What the hell?!" he nearly screamed as he found himself in the holding room for the results, bracing himself up on his hands and knees as he punched the ground beneath him. "Stupid… It was a four-way match! Free-for-all!"

He waited a while longer in silence, panting with more fury than pain until Mario showed up in the room after being launched from the Battlefield. He glared at the plumber, red eyes burning with hostility, and Mario stepped back and eyed him. A bit of time later, Samus showed up as well and Link took his place in the figurative winners' circle, striking a victory pose.

As soon as they were clear to leave, Dark Pit stalked out of the room, his fists clenched tight. He headed through the halls, dodging any other fighters he happened to pass by, and made his way to the men's residence wing. Once he was inside his room, he turned around and slammed the door, bracing his arms against it while he tried to control his anger. Once he had calmed down enough that he was fairly certain he wasn't going to break something or someone, he let out a heavy sigh and climbed up to his bunk, falling face first into his pillow as his wings drooped.

Some time later, the door opened briefly before closing again, and he heard the now familiar sound of his counterpart's rustling wings.

"Man, that was an awesome match!" Pit said, giddy as he climbed up the ladder to his doppelganger's bunk. "But dang, Wario's farts STINK." He paused. "How was your first fight?"

"How was my…" Dark Pit's words were muffled, and he shoved himself up, glaring at his twin. "It was AWFUL. How is it fair if they all gang up on me in a free-for-all match?! Who's bright idea was it to make me fight three of the most experienced veterans here?!" Pit's smile faded into a frown of concern.

"I… don't know what to tell you," he admitted. "How'd it go? Who were you against?"

"Link, Mario, and Samus," Dark Pit spat. "I swear they teamed up on me and I was the first one out."

"Huh," Pit grunted, earning an annoyed stare. "I gotta admit I'm surprised they beat you." Dark Pit blinked.

"Excuse me?"

"You've had entire armies after you, Pittoo. I mean, yeah, the guys here are a lot tougher than a Monoeye or Skuttler, but still. You and I have the power to take down entire ARMIES by ourselves." Dark Pit relaxed his shoulders as he sat back and his gaze lost focus. "Are you sure you didn't let the whole 'anger about people judging you' thing get in the way of you fighting? Because even if you didn't win, I can't believe you came in dead last." The dark angel didn't immediately reply.

"I guess I did," he sighed. "I didn't know what to expect. I've never fought in a battle like that. I mean, the closest thing I've had to it is fighting you. But this? Fighting actual competent opponents who can think and react in battle? I'm not used to that. I just shoot and ask questions later."

"Yeah, this is pretty different from back home," Pit agreed as he plopped down next to his counterpart. "But you can take 'em. Now that you know more about how it works and what to expect, I bet you'll be winning all kinds of matches. Plus, like you said, you were up against some of the originals." Dark Pit smirked.

"You'd better believe it. I'll send 'em scurrying with their tails between their legs."

"And some of them might take that literally," Pit laughed. "Hey, by the way, I saw that we've been assigned a team match in a couple of days- you and me versus Fox and Falco, I think."

"Those furry freaks from space?" the dark angel snorted. "That'll be fun." A grin grew on Pit's face, and he elbowed Dark Pit to get his full attention as he sat up.

"Filth of the land, hear our words!" he said, and Dark Pit stared at him before rolling his eyes briefly.

"And see our actions," he continued with a helpless smile.

"I am Pit, servant of the goddess of Light!" the white-winged angel proclaimed, his voice getting stronger.

"And I am Dark Pit, servant to no other but myself," the dark angel recited as his smile grew.

"Together we'll rain death upon you!" they both almost yelled in unison.

"So anyone who wants to die, step right up!" Dark Pit challenged.

"And anyone who doesn't want to die, too bad!" Pit added.

"AW YEAH!" With that, Pit fell onto his side, wholeheartedly laughing while Dark Pit smiled and shook his head, trying to hold back his own bout of laughter.

"See?" Pit gasped as he tried to recover. "We can take on anything, especially together. And between you and me, Fox likes to use his blaster. A lot. So just reflect it all back at him and he's toast."

"I'll keep that in mind." Dark Pit nodded and shoved his twin lightly, earning a nearly goofy grin. "Just stay out of my way and we'll be good."

"Eh, you won't even be able to keep up with me," Pit said with a shrug as he sat up again. "Anyway, Lucina's got a match starting soon and I want to watch. You wanna come?" Dark Pit eyed him curiously with a smirk. "What?"

"You got a thing for her or what?" he inquired, and Pit's face flushed.

"Wh-what? No! I mean, she's really nice and all, and pretty, and smart…" His voice trailed off as he spoke. "B-But we're just friends!"

"Uh huh." Pit scowled, only further amusing his doppelganger. "Fine. Let's go watch your girlfriend fight." He jumped off the bunk with Pit clamoring to follow him.

"She's NOT my girlfriend!" he insisted as they left their room.

"Did you forget I'm your reflection from the Mirror of Truth?" Dark Pit teased, again shoving Pit lightly. "I can tell when you're lying, dork. I know you better than anyone. I wonder what Palutena would say if she knew."

"Please don't tell her," Pit said quickly. "Stuff is complicated enough without her knowing about it."

"Wow, Captain Pit keeping a secret from his beloved goddess," Dark Pit said with an exaggerated frown. "Never thought I'd see the day. Worried she'd be jealous?"

"What?!" Pit's face turned several shades redder as he stared at the dark angel. "Why would you even say that?!"

"Never mind," Dark Pit replied, and Pit stared at him before chasing him down the hallway.

"Tell me!" he demanded, lunging and barely missing Dark Pit.

"I'm just messing with you!" he told the panting blue-eyed angel on the floor. "In all seriousness though, do you really have a thing for Lucina?" Pit sighed heavily as he pushed himself up and got back to his feet.

"I don't know," he admitted. "I mean, I guess it's not exactly a secret that she caught my eye. But what does it matter? We're all just here to fight. And the tournament will be over in a couple of weeks anyway, then we all go home." He shook his head. "Look, I don't really want to talk about it. Let's just go."

"Fine."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>For those of you who haven't played Uprising, the rally cry between the Pits is actually from the game. Believe it or not, I didn't make it up. It's one of my favorite interactions between them.  
>And I should probably mention that I'm not going to be focusing the entire story on what I affectionately call Dark Pit angst. Give me about two more chapters and you'll see what I mean.<p> 


	6. Chapter VI: Restlessness

The sky above was dark save the flashes of lightning that streaked across the sky followed by deafening crashes of thunder. Robin grit his teeth, panting as he braced his hands against his knees, and looked up to find Marth approaching him with his Falchion in hand.

_"Kill him now," _a voice from nowhere hissed. _"End him before he becomes your undoing." _

"Wh…what?" Robin breathed, his heart pounding in his chest as the Hero-King came closer until he was only a pace away. His eyes were dark and filled with malice, his brow furrowed and his jaw locked. "Marth, what's wrong?" the tactician demanded, but received no reply.

_"NOW__!" _the voice snapped. _"Destroy him!" _Robin glanced around wildly but found no source for the voice, and a glint from Falchion's blade caught his attention as Marth raised it up, preparing to strike.

"Marth!" Robin pleaded above the noise of the thunder, his eyes widening. "What are you doing?! Stop, please!" If Marth heard him, he didn't listen, and Robin squinted his eyes shut just as Falchion struck at him.

Robin bolted up in his bed, screaming and gripping his shirt over his chest as his heart sprinted wildly. He stared blankly at the air in front of him as he panted and tried to calm himself, though it took quite some time before his heartbeat finally became somewhat normal again. He collapsed back with his hands over his face, finding sweat on his skin as he breathed heavily.

"J-Just a dream," he told himself. "Just a nightmare… Like usual… Doesn't mean anything." He sat up again, more slowly this time, and glanced over to the window, frowning as he noticed the light coming through the cracks between the wall and curtains.

"Hornet hairs!" he spat and jumped out of bed, rushing over to the window and pulling back the curtains to find the sun had already risen quite a distance above the horizon. "Damn it, I'm so late…" He grabbed his tomes from his desk and pulled on his boots, then scrambled to fasten his belts and grabbed his coat as he tore out of the room and pulled it and his gloves on, covering the odd mark on his right hand just before he nearly ran into Luigi. He half stepped, half jumped out of his way while the tactician rushed down the hall, trying to tame down his hair with one hand and clutching his tomes in the other.

He arrived at his designated holding room just before his first match of the tournament's second day began, panting heavily. A light flashed around him and he unsheathed his Levin Sword as he readied his Thunder tome, groaning lightly as he found himself in 3D Land. Fighting was one thing, but keeping up with the stage's constant movement and change in terrain made it several times more difficult.

He scanned over his opponents as the announcer began the countdown, finding it appeared to be a four-way newcomer match. He was up against Rosalina and her Lumas, the youth with the odd blade named Shulk that he had met the previous morning, and…

"A dog?" He blinked as he stared at the dog with the duck on its back as it scratched itself. "A dog." He sighed and massaged his forehead. "This certainly is a strange tournament." The announcer signaled the start of the match and he took several steps forward before charging up his Thunder tome, dodging out of the way as Rosalina's Luma came flying at him. He turned around and raised his shield as he heard Shulk call out his nearly signature Back Slash move from behind him. He smirked and turned his attention back to his tome.

"Thoron!" he called, shooting forth a strong cast of magic that hit both Shulk and the Duck Hunt duo behind him. He lunged forward to hit the Monado's wielder with his Levin Sword, but Shulk smiled briefly and adjusted to counter him and send him back several steps. He recovered and turned around again to cast Arcfire at Rosalina, trapping her just long enough to push her out of the stage's bounds.

He felt something shoot him in the back and grit his teeth as he found an oddly pixilated character aiming at him courtesy of the dog, though Shulk slashed the Monado into the air and took the dog with him, hitting it again with a second strike before landing back on a platform they were now battling on. Robin, thankful for the chance to focus more on the fight rather than keeping up with the stage itself, took the moment's reprieve to charge up his tome again. He dodged to the side as the dog came running for him and the duck nearly head-butted him, and he stabbed at them with his Levin Sword to send them both flying.

He found himself sailing to the side as Shulk hit him from above, and he grabbed onto the edge of the platform and pulled himself back up before casting Elthunder in the direction of the other swordsman. Shulk again managed to evade it and struck him again with the Monado. Robin frowned and waited another moment before dodging around his opponent and pulling out a tome he rarely used.

"Nosferatu," he snapped, trapping Shulk in the darkness of the attack and damaging him while simultaneously healing the tactician. He spun around and struck the Duck Hunt duo again with his Levin Sword, exhausting its power but sending the dog flying off the stage before the duck could pull it back. He turned his attention back to Shulk as he pulled out his bronze sword. A blue light appeared around his opponent's feet and he rushed forward, hitting Robin before he had the chance to react and sending him off the platforms. He switched his tome and cast Elwind to boost himself up, landing back on the platform and switching over to Arcfire to cut Shulk off as he charged forth again.

Now that they had reached land again, he charged his Thunder tome once more and eyed his opponent as he took several steps back, scanning over Shulk's body language. The Monado's wielder grabbed the hilt of the blade on his back and lowered himself toward the ground, ready to counter whatever the tactician threw at him, but it seemed his window of opportunity to do so was limited. Once he straightened back up, Robin quickly shot forth another cast of Thoron that sent Shulk flying out of the stage's bounds, and the announcer called the game.

The tactician let out a sigh of relief and smiled as he took his place in the winner's circle, swinging his recharged Levin Sword lightly.

"I'm always three steps ahead," he thought aloud, and kept his head high as he left once he was clear to do so.

"Robin!" he heard a voice call and turned around to find Shulk approaching him. "Good match out there. You really do have quite the brain for tactics."

"You're not too shabby yourself," Robin replied as he offered his hand, and Shulk took it and shook it briefly. "Not many people can read and counter my moves that easily."

"It's not so much reading as foreseeing," Shulk told him, lifting the Monado a bit. "Ever since I took up this sword, it's shown me Visions of things about to happen, usually in battle or when someone's life is in danger. Of course, most people don't believe me until it's too late."

"Impressive," Robin nodded. "That'd be SO helpful when the Shepherds are battling the Risen or whatever else we're up against. It'd take a lot of the guess work out of strategizing."

"Eh, I don't think it'd be as helpful as you think. I can't pick and choose what I see. It just kind of shows me stuff when it feels like it, or at least that's what it seems like. The matches here are an exception, and I think that's Master Hand's doing."

"Ah," Robin nodded. "Well, even occasionally knowing what your enemy is going to do is better than nothing at all. Anyway, I haven't had anything to eat today, so I'm going to go find some food. I'll see you around."

"You too, Robin. I look forward to facing you again!" With that, the two parted ways and Robin made his way to the dining hall, his good mood from his victory fading as he thought back to the nightmare that had woken him up. It wasn't the first time since he arrived that he'd had a dream like it, but this was the first one that had been so vivid. And the voice he heard… was it speaking to Marth or to him? Or both? He sighed, massaging his forehead and deciding it was best not to dwell on it for too long.

As he entered the dining hall, he nearly ran into Lucina and Marth as they were coming out and forced a smile once he saw them, though Lucina's eyes glimmered with concern for him as she observed him.

"Are you well, Robin?" she asked once they had exchanged their greetings.

"Yeah, just another restless night," he replied. "Plus I just went through a match without so much as a bite to eat beforehand, so I'm pretty hungry. Care to join me?"

"I actually just finished," she told him and glanced to her ancestor. "Lord Marth and I are due for a match against Palutena and an odd boy I've heard is called Mega Man or something like that. Perhaps tonight for dinner, though?"

"Alright," he nodded. "Good luck to both of you then."

"Thank you, Robin," Marth smiled. "I saw your match earlier and you performed quite well. Your magic is strong and your swordplay nearly flawless. I'd feel quite safe under your command if I were following your strategies." Robin blinked and scratched the back of his head.

"That's very kind of you. I've just gotten in a LOT of practice over the past few years, and Chrom trusts me to keep him and everyone else safe. I won't let a single ally fall if I can help it."

"Then you and I are much alike," Marth said with a dip of his head. "I'd like to discuss it with you at length later on, but for now, we need to make our match. Enjoy your meal!" Robin nodded his thanks and the two lords exited the hall, and once they had gone, he slumped down in a seat and put his head down on the table.

"Stupid nightmares," he grumbled. "Gibberish. Pointless gibberish."


	7. Chapter VII: The Truly Dark Heart

Day two of the tournament had come to an end and the sun had long since set, and most of the Smashers had turned in for the night save a nearly nocturnal dark angel meandering through the halls. He pondered his team battle alongside Pit the following day, hoping he wasn't getting too overconfident about the match. In his hands was a book he'd borrowed from Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom, thumbing through it as he walked down the men's residence hall. Whether it was consciously or not, he looked for pretty much any way to possibly beat his lighter counterpart, and figured learning how to read was a useful way to go about it.

He looked up curiously at the sound of footsteps other than his own, wondering who else was up and about so late, and frowned as he found Robin sneaking to the door of one of the rooms. Or, at least, he was pretty sure it was Robin, seeing how the tactician had his cowl up, hiding most of his defining facial features. Robin opened the door and slipped in silently, and Dark Pit pursed his lips briefly before following and peering inside.

He found the room belonged to Marth, who was sleeping soundly in the bed against the wall opposite the door. Robin stood over him, back turned to the dark angel observing them. The tactician lifted his hand, light crackling around it like electricity until it formed a sharp point almost like a dagger. Dark Pit's crimson eyes widened as Robin readied the cast of magic, aimed for the slumbering Hero-King.

"MARTH!" the dark angel shouted, dropping his book and lunging toward the tactician. Robin let out something like a surprised growl as Dark Pit ran into him, knocking him aside just as Marth scrambled up in shock. His blue eyes widened with horror as he watched Robin strike the dark angel in the chest with the cast of magic as he stumbled back to recover his balance. Dark Pit let out an almost soundless grunt of agony as he fell to his knees, fighting a losing battle to stay conscious, and he collapsed to the ground within a heartbeat.

"R-Robin?!" Marth's horrified gaze moved from the dark angel to the tactician. "What in blazes are you doing?!" Robin didn't reply, but retrieved his Levin Sword from within his coat and cast a strike of Thunder magic from it that Marth barely dodged. He ducked and dodged around to unsheathe Falchion, pointing it at his assailant. "What's gotten into you?" he demanded as he tried to mind Dark Pit's unconscious body on the ground, stepping around and away from him. "Why are you doing this?!"

"Simple," Robin replied in a dark, venomous voice. "Lucina informed me that you have no memory of me. In other words, you and I haven't… met yet." His lips curled into a devious smile. "With all this talk between the two of you about securing the future, I have my own to think of. And what better way to do that than to destroy you before that wretched Naga can intervene?"

"R-Robin…" Marth stammered.

"Foolish boy." Robin shook his head and stepped toward him, shoving Dark Pit aside with his foot. "I am the wings of despair. I am the breath of ruin." His smile grew sinister, sending a chill down Marth's spine as the Hero-King's heart pounded in his chest. "I am the Fell Dragon, Grima."

"G…Grima…" Marth echoed. "But… How is that even possible?!" Robin replied with a sudden cast of dark magic and Marth dove out of the way toward his room's door, bolting into the hallway and ducking under a strike of Thunder courtesy of the Levin Sword. Marth grit his teeth and slashed Falchion forth as the tactician approached, managing a cut on his arm through his coat. Robin shrugged it off and sent forth another cast of magic, one that Marth ducked around and stabbed at his opponent, who moved just enough that the blade cut his side rather than piercing his chest.

"What the heck is going on out here?!" Ike demanded as his door swung open, and his eyes widened blankly as he watched Marth dodge another strike from Robin's sword. He quickly retrieved Ragnell and pounded on Link's door as he passed, making his way to Marth's side.

"Troublesome pests," Robin grumbled and took aim at Ike, who smirked.

"Don't have to play by Master Hand's rules right now," he said and raised Ragnell over his head, slashing it down and sending a wave of energy at his target, who stumbled back and spun around to find a very sleepy-looking Link standing behind him with the Master Sword and his Hylian Shield in hand.

"Stay out of my way or I'll destroy you all!" Robin snapped as magic crackled around his hand. "I've no quarrel with the two of you. All I want is the blood of that damned servant of Naga's spilled on the floor beneath my feet."

"You're not getting anywhere near him that easily," Ike replied, and Link grunted in agreement. Marth bit his lip and glanced at the other swordsmen.

"Ike, Link, please. This is my fight. I don't want anyone else to be hurt on my account!"

"Typical," Robin scoffed and shot forth a strong blast of Thunder magic that sent Ike crumpling to the ground. Marth rushed forward and slashed Falchion again, barely missing his opponent but forcing him back several steps. Link raced past him and Robin's Levin Sword hit his shield, and he followed up with the Master Sword that hit the tactician in the leg.

"I'm alright," Ike called as he managed to get back to his feet. Marth took a step toward Robin, Falchion at the ready, and Robin stepped back with anger etched on his face.

"Don't think you'll win so easy, pest," he growled. "One way or another I'll destroy you and that damned sword. Your end is-" He let out a grunt and bowed forward, and Marth leapt back as he collapsed on the floor. The Hero-King stared at the now unconscious tactician before looking up and finding Shulk lowering the Monado, concern and confusion in his eyes.

"Uh, are you all okay?" he asked, and Marth glanced back to the swordsmen who had come to his rescue before returning his gaze to Shulk.

"I… think so. Thank you."

"Don't thank me as much as the Monado," he replied, lifting the blade again as the purplish light around it died down. "I saw a Vision of your battle and… well, here we are. But what happened?" Marth sighed heavily and looked down at Robin once again, then up at the grumbling spectators that had gathered to complain about the noise so late at night.

"Marth!" He turned around to find Pit running toward him. "Are you okay? What's going on? What happened to Robin?" Marth's heart clenched, and he tried to push back his emotions for a moment longer as he formulated some sort of plan in his head.

"Ike, Link," he beckoned. "Will you take Robin to his room and keep an eye on him for the time being? I'll let you know as soon as I think of something more permanent."

"Sure," Ike replied as Link nodded, though Ragnell's wielder had an eye squinted in pain as they made their way over to hoist Robin up and carry him back to his room.

"Shulk," Marth continued as he turned again. "Will you go find Lucina and Palutena? Tell them I need to speak with them immediately and… to meet me in Pit's chamber."

"Er, what?" Pit asked as Shulk hurried off toward the women's residence wing. "What do you need Lady Palutena for?" Marth took a deep breath as he turned his attention to the angel.

"I hope she can do something for Dark Pit," he replied, gesturing for a visibly confused Pit to follow him. The angel complied and the two made their way back to Marth's room. Once he saw the scene inside, Pit let out an anguished cry.

"Pittoo!" He rushed over to his darker twin and hesitated a moment before carefully turning him over and holding him up in his arms. Dark Pit's head fell back, his body limp, and Pit flinched at the sight of his wound. "Wh-What happened?! Pittoo, wake up!" He shook the dark angel gently but received no response, and, with panic in his eyes, placed his ear against his counterpart's chest for a moment. He felt a slight bit of relief as he heard the sound of a heartbeat. "He's alive…" He blinked several times before looking up to Marth. "D-Did Robin do this?"

"I… I'm not sure," Marth admitted. "It was him physically, but… Pit, I promise I'll explain. But what you need to know now is that he saved my life." Pit blinked and returned his gaze to his twin. "I…" A lump formed in the Hero-King's throat that he swallowed back. "I'm so sorry any of us doubted him. He truly does have a good heart."

"Yeah, he does…" Pit mumbled and sighed. He adjusted and carefully hoisted the unconscious dark angel onto his back, then made his way out of the room and to their own with Marth following. The white-winged angel placed his twin on his bunk and flicked on a light above, frowning as he returned to Dark Pit's side and sat down next to him. "I-I'm glad you're okay, Marth," he said with a fractured voice. "I mean, you are, right?"

"Thanks to him, yes," Marth agreed. Neither said anything else until they heard the sound of footsteps outside and Palutena entered with Lucina behind her, both visibly shocked as they caught sight of Dark Pit.

"By the gods," Lucina breathed as Palutena immediately went about consoling her angel and checking what she could do for his counterpart. "Shulk said Robin attacked you," the Ylissean princess went on as she turned to her ancestor. "Is… Is that true?"

"I'm afraid it is," he nodded. "I don't know what came over him, but I think he was trying to assassinate me in my sleep. Dark Pit happened to be around and saved me, at the cost of taking the hit that was meant for me."

"It was magic-based, right?" Palutena asked as she looked up to him, and he nodded. "That's a bit different than the usual wound, but I don't think it's beyond my capabilities." She rested her hand on Pit's shoulder as he fretted over his twin, then moved to place it over Dark Pit's injury as a light glowed around it. "He should be okay," she said once she pulled back. "Whatever that magic was, it probably would have killed a human, but you two are made of much stronger stuff, right?" Pit nodded and wiped his eyes. "Give him some time to rest and he'll, hopefully, be fine."

"Th-thank you, Lady Palutena," the angel said and leaned into her, and she wrapped her arm gently around him as he glanced up to Marth. "So… What happened?"

"Lucina, I…" Marth took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I think you should sit down." She blinked and, at his beckoning, sat down in the chair next to the desk on one side of the room. "Robin… I'm not sure how exactly to say this. He claimed to be Grima." Lucina stared at him, shocked. It was a gaze mirrored by the angel and goddess as well.

"Wh-what?" she asked in an almost inaudible voice.

"He said he knew I haven't yet fought the Fell Dragon in my time," he went on. "And that if he kills me here, then…"

"Then he won't have to worry about you defeating him," she finished and placed her head in her hands. "That… can't be. Robin is…" She looked up again, blinking back tears. "Father was killed by his closest friend. That must be why…"

"Lucina," Pit said, and she looked over to meet his concerned gaze. "I'm so sorry." She nodded slowly.

"Me too, Pit," she replied. "I'm sorry Dark Pit had to get involved this way… I owe him so much."

"As do I," Marth agreed. "If there's anything, anything at all, that we can do to repay this debt, please tell me." He frowned as Lucina got to her feet and went toward the door.

"Where is Robin now?" she asked, turning to her ancestor.

"Back in his room," he told her. "Ike and Link are keeping watch on him, though as far as I know of, he's currently unconscious." She lowered her gaze and let out a soft, slow sigh.

"Please excuse me," she said softly. "I… need some time to think about all of this. Maybe we all do."

"Of course." With those words, Marth pulled her into an embrace that she returned briefly, then pulled back and looked over to Pit and Palutena.

"Please let me know if his condition changes."

"We will," Pit replied with a dip of his head before turning his attention back to his twin. Lucina nodded and departed, and Marth glanced back to the dark angel who had saved his life before following her and leaving the goddess and her captain to tend to him.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Ah... haha... Can't say I didn't warn you about major Awakening spoilers! Though I still feel like I should apologize to anyone who shrugged off that warning. For those of you who don't know the Awakening plot line, I'll explain a bit more of it next chapter. And as always, feel free to ask me questions in either a review or a private message.

Also, yes, according to Uprising, Pit is apparently illiterate. I'm under the assumption that this is one of his many traits that carried over to Dark Pit.


	8. Chapter VIII: Uncertainty

Sleep had proven quite elusive to Lucina for the rest of the night as she tossed and turned with thoughts about the revelation regarding Robin. Once morning had come, she made her way to his quarter and found Samus waiting outside his door with her paralyzer in hand.

"Is he awake?" the princess asked in a careful voice, and Samus nodded. "Is anyone else in there with him?"

"No. Go ahead in." Lucina dipped her head and went inside, closing the door behind her as she found Robin sitting on his bed with his head in his hands. He looked up and flinched as soon as he saw her, dropping his gaze immediately with guilt evident on his face.

"I-I'm so sorry, Lucina," he choked, and Lucina's heart ached at the sight of him. "I… I don't know what came over me. But it wasn't me, I swear."

"I believe you," she replied in an almost emotionless tone to mask her grief. He looked up slowly again, though still avoided her gaze as he rubbed the back of his head where the Monado had left a bit of a bump.

"I don't know if Chrom told you about my blood," he said glumly. "The new king of Plegia, Validar… Apparently he's my father." She blinked and inhaled sharply.

"He… Doesn't he lead the Grimleal?" she asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah. He's a pretty fanatical follower of the Fell Dragon. I…" he trailed off, shaking his head and hesitating for some time before speaking again. "I don't know, maybe his influence in my blood gives Grima a foothold within me somehow. I don't know exactly what my connection to that monster is, but…" Lucina frowned and looked down in thought, barely able to believe what she was hearing.

"I don't know what to say," she admitted. "I… Robin, I trust you. I know my father trusts you. But now, knowing that the Fell Dragon can use you somehow, what can we do?" He sighed and shook his head.

"I… I don't know. I don't want to hurt you, Chrom, or Marth, but… What can I do? I don't know if I can control this. Even if I don't have any foul intentions, I'm still beholden now to Grima. And what's worse, I have no idea why or how."

"Robin," she beckoned as she stepped toward him, but he looked up in alarm and scrambled back, holding his hand up toward her.

"Please, Lucina, stay away from me. I don't want to hurt you. I swore to Chrom that I would keep you safe! Now look at me…." He hung his head in shame.

"Robin…" she said gently. "I… I don't know what to tell you. I just wanted to be sure you were back to your old self. But I need some time to think about this now that I've had a chance to speak to you." He nodded slowly.

"I understand," he replied. "But please, if you will, pass along my deepest apologies to Marth. And…" he squeezed his hands together as his voice broke again. "Is… What happened to Dark Pit?"

"He's alive," she told him. "He's been unconscious since last night, but Palutena says he should recover."

"Good…" he mumbled. "Pit would probably hate me if I ended up… And I'd rather avoid that. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I took an innocent life." Lucina gazed at him and bit her lip.

"…Truly?" she asked carefully, and he nodded.

"Of course. Especially if it was because of Grima. That would be awful." Silence fell over them for some time until Lucina finally dipped her head.

"I'll see you soon, Robin." With that, she departed and headed down the hall to another room while her head swirled with conflicting thoughts and beliefs. She knocked on the door and opened it slowly, peaking inside.

"Lucina?" Pit said as he looked over from the top bunk in the room and jumped down. "Come on in. Are you okay?" She didn't reply as she stepped inside and shut the door behind her. The genuine concern in his blue eyes broke the dam keeping her emotions back and she buried her face in her hands, sliding down to the floor with her back against the door. "Lucina!" Pit hurried over to her and knelt down at her side, hesitating for a moment before gently placing his arms around her. She leaned in against him and he rested his cheek against the top of her head, and they remained that way for a time before she finally pulled back.

"Forgive me," she said softly. "I don't mean to burden you with even more than you're already dealing with."

"It's fine," he insisted with a half-smile. "I want to be able to help you in any way I can."

"Mm…" she took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down. "Thank you, Pit. How's your twin doing?" They both looked over to Dark Pit's sleeping form on the lower bunk.

"Still hasn't woken up," the angel replied. "But I think he's at least resting more comfortably. His breathing isn't as labored and his face doesn't look like he's in quite as much pain."

"Good, good," she said softly. "I hope he wakes up soon."

"Lady Palutena says he should by tomorrow," he agreed. "But I'll feel better once he's actually up and about. Or at least awake." He shook his head. "Anyway, have you talked to Robin?"

"I did," she nodded and sighed. "He seemed back to his old self and genuinely upset about what happened, not to mention terrified that it might again and confused on why it happened in the first place." She lowered her head again as her gaze darkened. "I… I don't know what to do, Pit. Marth sent Grima into a thousand-year slumber, but he has yet to do so in his time. So he can't tell me exactly how he was able to do it. Somehow, my father should be able to do the same feat, but should he die like he did in my time… Our hope is lost. I have to protect him if I'm to protect everyone else."

"Having the fate of the world on your shoulders stinks," the angel grumbled. "So, let me see if I have this all straight. Marth did defeat Grima a thousand years before your time, but he couldn't actually destroy him. Somehow, he came back in your time and because your father was killed, you were thrown into pretty much hopeless chaos. So you travelled back in time to change anything directly relating to Grima's return?"

"Yes," she nodded again. "I tried my best not to interfere with anything else, but that remains to be seen."

"And ultimately, you're trying to make sure your father stays alive. If I can ask, how did he die?" She frowned and glanced up with grief in her eyes, and he chewed his lip a bit. "Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, it's fine," she said. "I don't know who it was specifically, but stories tell that he was betrayed by his closest friend during a pivotal battle." She fell silent for a bit of time. "I… Didn't think it was possible, given how close they were, but I'm starting to wonder if Robin is my father's murderer. It wouldn't be his doing, but Grima's…" She drew her legs up to her chest and rested her forehead on her knees, and Pit shifted a bit closer to her and pulled her in against him again.

"I once had to fight Lady Palutena," he told her, and she peaked out curiously. "She was under the control of this evil thing called the Chaos Kin. I lucked out and didn't actually have to kill her, but for a while, I believed I would have to. That was actually when Pittoo and I ended up as allies." He shook his head. "It's such a sickening feeling, though. Making a choice like that, to hold one life in one hand and so much more in the other, but it feels like that one life weighs so much more."

"It's a burden I wouldn't wish on anyone," she agreed. "And one I truly don't want to bear." He glanced over at Dark Pit and frowned, then looked back to her and got to his feet.

"Can I show you something?" he asked with an uncharacteristically serious gaze. "But you have to promise me you won't tell anyone else. I really don't want it getting out among the other guys around here."  
>"Very well," she replied. "I promise I won't say a word." He hesitated and looked down.<p>

"Uh, bear with me and don't freak out." He reached up and unclasped his tunic, allowing it to fall around his waist, and his face turned a shade red as he carefully pulled off his undershirt as well. Lucina stared at him, more confused than intrigued, and felt her own cheeks flush as he dropped it to the floor at his side. Without a word, he closed his eyes and turned around, spreading his wings and stretching his arms out before him. Her eyes widened in shock and she cupped her hands over her mouth as she got to her feet.

"By the gods," she breathed as her eyes looked over the burn scars on his back. They seemed to have faded slightly, but she could only imagine what inferno he'd been caught in to cause such wounds. "How did that happen…?" He turned back around to her, pain in his eyes as he relived the memory.

"When Pittoo and I beat the Chaos Kin and saved Lady Palutena, we thought we had destroyed it. Turns out we were wrong. What was left of it managed to grab him and send him falling over the side of the floating islet we were on, and I jumped off after him." He paused. "I can't fly on my own. Don't know if you knew that or not. But Lady Palutena and another goddess from our world could give me the Power of Flight that lasts about five minutes at a time. But I went over that limit, and… My wings caught fire and burned up." Horror became apparent in her eyes.

"B-But… you have your wings now," she pointed out, and he nodded.

"Only because Pittoo got me to a place called the Rewind Spring. He saved my wings and my life." He paused. "But my point is that I didn't even hesitate to save him even if it cost me my own life. It was just the right thing to do, and I don't regret it." He bent down and retrieved his undershirt as the Ylissean princess hesitantly approached him, and he pulled it on before fixing his tunic. He forced a smile and touched her arm gently once she had come to stand about a pace away from him. And, somehow, she managed a small smile as well.

"I think I see what you mean," she told him. "I'll know the right thing to do."

"Exactly." His smile grew as he dipped his head. "You're smart and so kind, Lucina. I know you don't want to lose anyone- you're a lot like Marth in that way. I know you'll figure out a way to make all this work, save your father, and stop Grima. I just wish I could do more to help you." She gazed at him a moment longer before bending down slightly and hugging him tightly, and he grunted in surprise before returning it.

"You've done so much more for me than you probably realize," she said softly. "Thank you, Pit." He pulled back to meet her gaze again with a warm smile.

"Glad to help." His smile faded as he observed the conflict and guilt in her eyes. "Hey, just… Promise me you won't do anything you'll regret." Her gaze darkened and she let out a slow, soft breath.

"I can make no such promise, Pit," she replied. "I'm sorry." She nodded to him and turned to the door. "Let me know if and when he wakes up, please."

"…I will," he said. She left without another word, and he frowned as a sick feeling settled into his heart.


	9. Chapter IX: To Live or Die

After her visit with Pit, Lucina walked back toward Robin's quarter with a heavy heart, her hand resting on Falchion's handle as she went along her way. Apparently while she had been away, Kirby had come to relieve Samus of guard duty, and she nodded to the small pink ball as she entered the room.

"Robin?" she beckoned, and he looked up to her from his place on his bed.

"I didn't expect to see you back so soon," he said in a dull voice. "What's on your mind?" She frowned and hoped the agony in her chest wasn't apparent on her face.

"I… Beg pardon, but might I have a word?" she asked, and he nodded. "Could we… go outside? I'd rather speak with you in private. Plus, I think a change of scenery might do you good." She could see his hesitation in his eyes, but he sighed and got to his feet.

"Of course, Lucina. Lead the way." She nodded and turned for the door, and he followed about a pace and a half behind her as the made their way to the main entrance of their temporary home. She did her best to remain stoic at the confused and malicious gazes of the other fighters they passed and could only imagine how much pain they brought Robin. Word of the previous night's events had traveled quickly.

They emerged into the open air of the field with the sun shining overhead, and Lucina continued walking until there was quite a bit of distance between them and the building. She took a deep breath, pushing back the wave of emotions threatening to drown her, and turned around to her companion. Robin's eyes were still consumed with guilt and fear, a look that made her heart drop as her grip on Falchion's handle tightened.

"You're certain you're fine with being out here alone with me?" He asked quietly, and she forced a smile and nodded.

"Of course, Robin. I told you: I want to speak with you privately."

"Alright," he replied. "What is it?"

"It's about my father," she began, taking another breath. "I have memories of him, you know. From when I was little. Before he… died."

"I see…" Robin mumbled.

"He was courageous, and kind, and everyone spoke fondly of him." She smiled at the thought. "People say he was brave right up until the very end. I always yearned to know him better." Her smile faded. "And now that I do…" She shook her head. "I can see that the world will be robbed of a very great man. …I won't allow that happen."

"I understand," Robin said with a slight smile. "You love him. I do too, in my own way." She pursed her lips and looked down for a moment.

"Robin, I… Please, forgive me…" She unsheathed Falchion and pointed it at him, her pain evident in her eyes as he took a step back and stared at her in alarm.

"L-Lucina?!"

"Stay where you are, Robin!" she snapped. "I have no choice. I must kill you."

"What?!" A trace of pleading crept into his voice. "Lucina, please… I…"

"In my future, you are my father's murderer," she said sternly.

"No!" the tactician replied. "I… I would never kill Chrom!"

"Robin, I knew that he had been killed by his closest friend," she told him, her grip on Falchion tightening once again. "Having witnessed your bond with him, I doubted it could be so… But what happened last night makes it clear. You are at Grima's mercy, somehow or other. I suspect it's he who forces you to take my father's life. And… when we return to our home, it's only a matter of time before you do."

"Lucina," Robin nearly begged. "Wait."

"If my father is right," she went on, ignoring him. "Then we can change our fates. If this dark future is to be averted, sacrifices must be made. I am sorry, Robin!" She blinked back the hot water stinging her eyes and shook her head. "I know this is murder, I… I know that."

"Lucina, you don't have to-"

"Don't make it harder!" she spat. "Don't resist, and your death will be swift and painless. If you hold any love for Chrom, then let this be done…" He shut his eyes and let out a slow breath, bowing his head. He was silent for some time, and every moment that passed was more painful than the last for the princess. She silently begged him to make up his mind, terrified that if he waited much longer, she simply wouldn't be able to go through with it.

"…Very well," he finally said, holding his hands up but refusing to meet her eye. "I swore to you and Chrom that I would do anything and everything to see Grima's return averted. If I am a piece in that puzzle, I have no place to refuse you. I forfeit my life to save Chrom and stop the Fell Dragon." She nodded slowly, her heart aching.

"Godspeed, Robin," was all she managed to say, and she readied Falchion as she took her aim.

"LUCINA! " a voice shouted. "Enough of this!"

"What…?" she looked up to find the Hero-King sprinting toward them, almost sliding to a halt but ready to spring again once he reached them.

"Lower your sword, Lucina," he told her.

"Lord Marth, please. You don't-"

"LOWER YOUR SWORD!" he ordered, his eyes blazing with anger and concern. The sight of such ferocity from whom she had perceived as such a gentle and kind man since she arrived startled her. This was more akin to who she believed he had been from the legends. She lowered Falchion to her side and bit her lip.

"Marth, she's right," Robin spoke up, his voice fractured. "I had no control last night when I attempted to take your life. I can't be trusted! I… I won't be responsible for Chrom's death, even if it means my own." Marth turned to the tactician, his anger fading and grief replacing it.

"Believe me when I say I understand your sentiment," he said in a calmer voice. "But I won't allow this. Robin, the fact that you stand here now, ready to give up your life, is proof enough that Grima does not have full control over you."

"B-But it's only a matter of time," Lucina argued, and he turned to her with a look that silenced her immediately.

"I will NOT see another life lost needlessly to darkness!" he nearly snapped. "Lucina," he continued in a softer tone, "Tell me, do the legends about me say anything about a man named Hardin?" She shook her head, and he frowned. "I see… Then allow me to tell you. Hardin was the prince of Aruelis when I first met him. He was a just, kind, and dutiful man who would do anything to protect his people and Princess Nyna. After the War of Shadows, they were married and he was crowned Emperor of Archanea. But… He was driven into depression when he found out she did not love him the way he did her. In his moment of weakness, a dark sorcerer managed to engulf his heart in shadow and turned him into a ruthless tyrant." He shook his head slowly as he bowed it. "He was one of my closest friends, Lucina. He had my complete trust, and I was forced to cut him down. Only death could save him from the darkness that had corrupted him. But to this day, I believe that if I had reached him sooner, perhaps I could have saved him." He turned his gaze to Robin.

"I believe there is still hope for you, Robin," he continued. "I respect your devotion to Chrom and your desire to bring about peace at any cost. But as long as you are not fully under Grima's control, I refuse to accept that you must die to see that peace become reality." He looked back to Lucina with a much softer gaze. "You say yourself that the future is not written, Lucina. …I beg of you, don't do this. If there is another way, find it." She blinked and swallowed back her shock that the legendary Hero-King would beg her to save a life, let alone one that had nearly taken his own.

"I… All right," she finally said, nodding slowly and sheathing Falchion. "I hope you're right, Lord Marth. Robin, I don't want to lose you and I know my father would grieve if something happened to you. I… Please forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive," he replied. "I can only imagine what catastrophic world you come from. And… Marth, let me say something." The Hero-King nodded. "I appreciate your concern for me. But if it means destroying Grima, then I would gladly give my life."

"Mm…" Marth nodded again. "That's up to you. But I want the choice to be just that: Yours. And I hope it doesn't come down to that."

"Me too," Robin agreed. "Now… If neither of you mind, I'm going to return to my room. I'm… very tired." He dipped his head and departed without waiting for a response, and Lucina gazed after him as he left.

"It'll work out," Marth said, and she turned to him to find him giving her a gentle smile. "Hold on to hope, Lucina. You'll be amazed at how far it can take you."

"I will." She sighed softly. "I… admit I'm glad you intervened. Robin doesn't deserve to die, and I truly hope his life can be spared by the time we sort all of this chaos out. But if I have to choose between him and my father, Chrom must come first."

"Make that decision when the time comes," Marth told her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "In the meantime, have faith in him."

"I do have a question, though. How did you know about this?"

"About you and Robin?" She nodded, and he smiled. "A little bird who cares deeply for you told me. Seems you've gained a guardian angel, Lucina." She smiled slightly and looked back at the tournament's main building.

"Thank you, Pit…"


	10. Chapter X: Shift

There was an indistinct sound of voices floating through the darkness, steadily becoming stronger until they became clear enough to understand.

"…Hope that things will work out," one voice was saying. "I don't want him to die."

"I'm glad you didn't go through with it," the other voice, one recognized as Pit's, replied. "But I know it's a hard choice. I wish I could do more to help."

"Thank you, Pit," the other voice said. "I could never repay your kindness."

Both Pit and Lucina looked up at the sound of a groan, and Pit held his breath as he saw Dark Pit's brow furrow briefly before he blinked open his crimson eyes. He stared at the bottom of the bunk above him before pulling his hands up and covering his face, though he let out a grunt of pain at the motion.

"Pittoo!" Pit said with a relieved smile as he knelt down at his counterpart's side. "Glad to see you're awake."

"Mrph," was Dark Pit's muffled reply before he removed his hands and turned his head to look at the lighter angel. "Jeez, I feel like I got run over by an Orne. What happened to Robin? Is Marth okay?"

"They're both fine," Lucina reported as she came to stand next to Pit. "I can't begin to thank you for what you did, Pittoo." He stared at her, and she blinked before smiling sheepishly. "Pardon me, Dark Pit. Maybe I've been spending too much time with your twin lately."

"I don't mind," Pit smiled and helped Dark Pit sit up slowly.

"How long was I out?" he asked, wincing.

"About a day," Pit replied, glancing out the window to the setting sun's light. "I kind of skipped my matches today to keep an eye on you."

"Thanks, I guess," Dark Pit nodded. "But what was up with Robin? Seriously."

"It… wasn't Robin's doing, per say," Lucina told him, kneeling down a bit. "Somehow, he was possessed by Grima, the Fell Dragon that nearly drove us to extinction. It wasn't a permanent possession, though. He's back to his old self for now. And he wants to apologize to you for what you suffered." He frowned and sighed.

"As long as he's not trying to kill anybody anymore and Marth is okay." He looked from her over to Pit and raised one eyebrow. "So, what's up with you two?"

"What do you mean?" Pit asked, staring at his doppelganger. "You were almost killed by a close companion of hers. It kind of forced us together."

"Doubt you're too annoyed by that too much," Dark Pit smirked, sparking a flush on Pit's face. "So, uh… What's up, Lucina? I don't think you and I have gotten much of a chance to get to know each other."

"I'm well, despite everything," she replied with a smile. "Pit has told me a lot about you and other sacrifices you've made. You truly have a good heart."

"Did he now?" Dark Pit looked over at his twin again, who smiled.

"Told her about the fight with the Chaos Kin," he said, and his smile faded briefly. "I showed her the burns on my back too."

"You two have a strong bond, don't you?" Lucina asked, and Dark Pit shrugged.

"I guess so. I mean, if he get finished, so do I. We're connected."

"Two sides of the same coin," Pit chuckled.

"Can we continue this conversation with food involved?" Dark Pit inquired, and both Pit and Lucina laughed. "I'm kind of starving."

"Do you want me to get you something or would you rather try to go down to the dining hall yourself?" Dark Pit frowned and gestured for them to step out of the way, then slowly fought through the pain of his injury and his stiff muscles to get to his feet.

"I'm not entirely helpless," he grumbled. "But hand me my staff, will you?" The white-winged angel retrieved it from its place against the wall and handed it to his darker twin, and Dark Pit let out a soft sigh as he used it as a crutch and started toward the door, stumbling a bit. Pit hurried over to grab the other angel's free arm and sling it over his shoulders. "I can do this myself!" Dark Pit snapped, and Pit smiled as he tightened his grip on the dark angel's wrist as he tried to pull it away.

"I'd rather not take the chance," he said with a grin. "Can you get the door, Lucina?" She nodded and opened it, and the angels made their way out into the hall as she fell into step on Dark Pit's other side.

"Seriously, I can handle myself," Dark Pit insisted, and Pit nudged him slightly as Lucina smiled.

"What do you want to hurt more?" Pit asked. "Your pride or your body? That was a heck of a blow you took and Lady Palutena said you're lucky to be alive. Just a little higher and it would have hit your heart."

"Uuuuuugh," Dark Pit groaned. "Just you wait, Pit-stain. I'll back to kicking your butt within a couple days."

"It'd probably help if you could walk on your own," Pit teased. "But I look forward to it, believe it or not. The sooner you're back to full health, the better." He looked over to Lucina and grinned. "By the way, since we missed our match against Fox and Falco, I was told earlier that we're apparently going to be facing you and Ike once he's back on his feet."

"I am on my feet," Dark Pit pointed out.

"Okay, back on his feet and able to shoot a bow or swing his Electroshock Arm without needing something or someone to support him." Dark Pit grumbled something to himself, and Pit snorted with amusement.

"I look forward to it," Lucina replied. "But don't push yourself, Dark Pit. I'd really rather your injury not become permanent." Both the angels nodded, and Dark Pit actually smiled a bit.

"I can see why Pit likes you so much," he said bluntly, sending his twin's cheeks burning. "You don't seem fake, Lucina. Like your kindness and concern for others is real. It took a lot of people from our world quite some time to warm up to me and I still get a lot of weird looks. But you…"

"I trust Pit when he says you're a friend and you saved my ancestor's life," she said simply. "Without Lord Marth, our world would fall to ruin and my father and I wouldn't even exist. You saved more than him. You saved our world." He blinked and smiled sheepishly.

"And here Palutena once said I'm wicked and destructive," he chuckled.

"Well, I don't know about wicked, but you were pretty destructive," Pit pointed out. "You didn't exactly argue when she said you're just not happy unless you're fighting someone."

"And I do enjoy a good match," Dark Pit agreed. "But the whole wicked and evil thing just doesn't appeal to me." His tone and expression suddenly dropped. "Pandora would've liked that way too much." As soon as he finished that statement, he lightened up again. "Anyway, so have you two set a wedding date yet?"

"Excuse me?" Pit blurted.

"Are you gonna find a way to ask Chrom or just go through Marth again?"

"Pittoo!"

"Can I be your best man?"

"PITTOO!" With that, and the sight of Pit's flustered face, Lucina started wholeheartedly laughing, and both angels turned their gazes on her. "Wh-What's so funny?"

"Forgive me," she snickered, her own face a shade pink. "Just… If I didn't know better, I'd say you two are brothers. It's very sweet." Pit smiled sheepishly and shook his head while Dark Pit snorted.

"I'd rather that than us being at each others' throats," the white-winged angel replied. By that point, they had reached the dining hall, and Lucina once again stepped ahead to open the door for them.

Dark Pit blinked as he found no small amount of fighters sitting down for their evening meal staring at him once they had entered. There was a heavy silence in the air and Pit tightened his grip on his twin's arm slightly. Finally, the sound of a clearing throat broke the silence as Ike got to his feet from his table, grinning.

"About time, sleepyhead!" he called, earning a stare from the red-eyed angel.

"Glad to see you're up!" Peach greeted from another nearby table.

"Er… Okay," Dark Pit muttered. "What did you do?"

"Who?" Pit asked.

"You!"

"I didn't do anything," the lighter angel laughed. "I've been holed up in our room keeping an eye on you. I guess word got around pretty quickly about what you did."

"Indeed it did," Marth agreed as he approached them, and Dark Pit let out a small grunt of surprise as the Hero-King crossed his arm over his chest and bowed to him. "I'm in your debt, Dark Pit. I cannot thank you enough for saving my life."

"C-Come on," the dark angel stuttered. "You're some great leader. Don't waste the formalities on me. I just did what was right."

"Even so," Marth smiled as he straightened up again. "You have my gratitude and I cannot begin to say how relieved I am to see you on your feet already."

"More or less," Pit joked, and Dark Pit wrenched his arm to pull his counterpart into something resembling a headlock. "Okay, okay! Sorry!"

"Don't you forget it," Dark Pit smirked and loosened his grip. "Anyway. But Marth, you're okay? Please don't tell me I took a blast of magic to the chest for nothing."

"I'm quite well," Marth replied. "What you did certainly was not in vain. Now, I apologize. I imagine you came down here because you're hungry."

"Somewhere between that and famished," the dark angel agreed. "One of the many things I got from this dork here is a ridiculous appetite."

"Angels seem to have pretty high metabolisms," Palutena pointed out with a bright smile on her face as she joined them. "I'm so glad to see you're okay, Pittoo. How are you feeling?"

"Stiff, kind of in pain, but recovering," he reported. "…Thanks, Palutena." Warmth brightened her eyes as she rested her hand on his free shoulder.

"I certainly owe you a favor or two after the whole deal with the Chaos Kin," she said. "You've proven me wrong time and time again and I'd hate to see anything happen to you."

"Yeah, you're not allowed to go anywhere!" Pit grinned. "Anyway, seriously. I'm pretty hungry myself, so can we continue this after we grab our food?"

"Of course," Palutena nodded, and the angels made their way toward the kitchen with Lucina and the goddess following. "How are you holding up?"

"Me?" Lucina asked, and Palutena nodded again. "I'm okay if nothing else. I feel a lot better now that Dark Pit is awake, and Pit… I can't even explain it, but he's helped me a lot. I hope you realize how lucky you are to have him."

"I do," Palutena agreed. "Mm… I do admit I'm a little surprised at what's developed in him, though."

"What do you mean?" the princess asked, tilting her head curiously, and both she and the goddess turned their gazes to the angels. Pit grinned playfully as he grabbed a tray to carry their meals, Dark Pit smiling as well as he braced himself against his staff. Lucina couldn't make out what they were saying, but she could guess they were happy if nothing else.

"Just a little something I see in his eyes when he looks at you," Palutena replied. "I've never seen it before." She shrugged. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be keeping you. Go get your food." Lucina nodded and headed to follow the angels, a small smile on her face.

"Maybe it is more than just joking around," she said to herself and picked up her pace to follow the angel whose eye she'd caught.


	11. Chapter XI: A Glimmer of Hope

After a few days of exercising and training with his lighter counterpart, Dark Pit had claimed he felt ready to take on the team match they had been assigned. Though he would never say so out loud, he wasn't certain he was in good enough shape for a free-for-all, but thought he could handle a battle where someone had his back. And so, he and Pit stood on one side of the Final Destination while Lucina and Ike took up their battle stances on the other. Pit was in front, as the two had chosen a tactic they'd employed when fighting the Chaos Kin together: Pit would focus primarily on melee combat while Dark Pit would cover him with ranged attacks and keeping the distance between them and their opponents in check if they got out of the white-winged angel's range.

Pit, meanwhile, had to admit he was both excited and nervous to face Lucina in combat. He knew the tournament was all in good fun but still feared hurting her on accident, not to mention some of the bruises he'd sustained last time courtesy of Ike and Ragnell. On the other hand, he looked forward to testing his skill against hers- all while keeping an eye on his counterpart.

"GO!" the announcer called, and he rushed forward to slash through Ike before the swordsman could make a move. Dark Pit followed up with a charged shot from his bow that sent Ike back several steps, but Lucina hurried past him and hit Pit with the tip of her sword. Once he found his footing, he pulled out his Upperdash Arm and rammed it forward, managing to knock both his opponents off balance long enough for Dark Pit to slip in and hit them both with his blades. Pit flinched as he saw the wince of pain on his counterpart's face while he moved to attack, but decided to leave it alone for now unless it became a bigger issue.

The dark angel fell back again behind his twin and Pit dodged around Lucina only to receive a hard blow from Ike that sent him sprawling. He jumped back to his feet and shot the swordsman with an arrow before running in and knocking him into the air. Ike responded with his signature Aether move, managing to hit the angel on his way back down and Lucina volleyed him back.

"Don't count me out yet!" Dark Pit snapped as he rushed them with his Electroshock Arm, knocking both off the platform and giving Pit the chance to collect himself and reset his battle stance while they recovered. All four looked up as a light flashed, revealing a Smash Ball that began floating around the stage. Lucina slashed Falchion up and nicked it, and Ike again threw Ragnell into the air to strike it. Neither attack broke it, and Pit ran in to hit it once he figured he was clear of Ike's descent, but he miscalculated his sword and the Smash Ball floated away as if it were taunting him.

An arrow flew through the air and struck it, shattering it, and its aura of power burst forth around Dark Pit. He smirked at the looks of panic on their opponents' faces, both ready to dodge as soon as he took aim. It was a tactic Pit wasn't about to let happen. He jumped up and slashed down, knocking Lucina off balance and grabbed Ike, then nodded back to his twin. Dark Pit's smirk grew mischievously as he pulled forth his staff.

"Goodbye." The blast from it shot forth like lightning, hitting both Lucina and Ike and sending them both flying. Pit stumbled, nearly blown back himself by the force of his doppelganger's attack. The boost the staff had gotten in this tournament was nothing short of impressive.

The match was called and the angels took up their victory poses, a grin on Pit's face while Dark Pit had a rather serious look. However, once they were dismissed, the dark angel cracked a smile as he turned to his twin.

"Well, that was fun," he said, and Pit laughed.

"I bet Ike is gonna be kind of cheesed off with me for holding him, though. You've got a really good shot."

"You know it." With that, Dark Pit started to take a step forward, but his leg buckled under his weight and he stumbled forth.

"Pittoo!" Pit caught his twin as he started to fall, and Dark Pit swore something under his breath.

"G-Guess I'm not in as good of shape as I thought," he growled through grit teeth. "Whatever the Hand did to dull our injuries during the match, I guess it wore off."

"Are you okay?" Pit asked with concern in his voice, and Dark Pit nodded as he held himself up with his grip on Pit's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I think I just need to sit or lay down for a while." He sighed. "I hate this. Where's a Hot Spring when you need it?"

"Let's get back to our room, then." Pit pulled his twin's arm around his shoulder and wrapped his own around the dark angel's waist to hold him up, and they started toward the men's residence wing.

"Pit?" Lucina called, and both he and Dark Pit looked over their shoulders as she ran over to them with Ike following behind her. "Dark Pit! Are you okay?"

"My little injury hit its limit for the day," he replied flatly. "I'll be fine. You two alright?"  
>"Yeah, though that was a pretty dirty stunt you did there, Pit," Ike chuckled with his arms crossed. "Take it easy, Dark Pit. And nice shot back there."<p>

"Thanks," the dark angel replied dully. With that, Ike waved and headed off, though Lucina remained with the angels.

"Is there anything I can do?" she asked fretfully. Dark Pit shook his head and shrugged.

"Not that I can think of, but it's nice of you to ask." He stared at her a moment and smirked. "But don't let me stop you from finding an excuse to spend some more time with the dork here."

"PITTOO." As was becoming routine, Pit's face flushed and he looked down. Lucina smiled and followed them as they made their way through the halls to their room. Once inside, the lighter angel helped his darker twin onto the lower bunk, then climbed up to the top and looked down as Lucina took the seat in front of the desk. Dark Pit let out a heavy sigh, irritated as he adjusted his wings to lie on his back.

"I am SO ready for this thing to be healed," he grumbled. "I hate feeling so pathetic."

"Maybe we should have seen if we could have cancelled the match," Lucina said, and he turned his head to stare at her again.

"No way," he smirked. "I'm glad I got a chance to get out there and kick your butts. Proves I'm still tougher than most of you humans."

"Yeah, well, you didn't take Ragnell to the face," Pit laughed. "That probably would have knocked your ego down several points."

"Details," Dark Pit scoffed, and Lucina shook her head lightly.

"Either way, I'm thankful I don't have to face either of you in real combat," she said. "I don't know how long my companions and I would last against you."

"If we were fighting on the same battlefield, I'm pretty sure we'd be with you rather than against you," Pit replied with a smile. "I'd love the chance to shoot down a few Risen for you."

"I'd appreciate that," she sighed. "We sorely need the help." The three of them fell silent for a while save Dark Pit's occasional grunt of pain as he shifted around. "May I… ask you two a question?"

"Of course," Pit nodded. Lucina looked up at him with a sheepish smile, a trace of longing in her eyes that confused him.

"What is heaven like?" she asked, and he blinked. "You… That's where you're from, right?"

"If you mean Skyworld, where Palutena rules, then yes," Dark Pit replied. "Well, he's from there. I spend a lot of time wandering. But I've been there a few times, though not for very long."

"It's a beautiful land," Pit said with a smile. "Why do you ask?" Her smile faded and she took a deep breath, lowering her gaze.

"The world I come from is hell on earth," she said softly. "And I can't help but wonder if we can change the course of destiny. I… I guess I've always wondered what the opposite would be like- not hell, but heaven." Pit looked down to exchange a glance with his doppelganger before jumping off his bunk and approaching the princess. She looked up to find a gentle, reassuring smile on his face and warmth in his eyes.

"We have seasons, but it's usually warm except for about a month or two when we get snow, usually around my birthday. We have rich green grasses and bubbling springs that reflect the sunlight from above the clouds. We use a lot of marble in building and there are gardens with all sorts of different-colored flowers." She closed her eyes and leaned her head back as she listened.

"It sounds absolutely wonderful," she breathed. "I truly wish I could see a world like that."

"Too bad we can't take you back with us," Dark Pit said bluntly from his bed. "Sounds like you need a vacation. And this tournament doesn't count, especially with what happened to Robin."

"Mm…" She sighed again softly. "I admit part of me wants to just run away from all of this. But the people of Ylisse need me and I'd be shaming Marth's name if I hid myself like a coward." She opened her eyes to reveal burning determination. "I will change my future. I don't care what it takes, I'll bring back peace just as Marth did."

"You will," Pit agreed and rested his hand on her shoulder. "I know you can, Lucina. And even if I can't help you directly, I'll at least be thinking and praying for your success." She smiled and leaned into his side, closing her eyes once again.

"That means so much more to me than you probably know," she replied. "Thank you, Pit." He looked up to find Dark Pit grinning at him- or, at least as much as the dark angel could grin. Pit stuck his tongue out at him, and Dark Pit held back a burst of laughter and instead shook silently with a slight snort. The white-winged angel rolled his eyes and returned his gaze to Lucina.

"Anything to help bring you even a little peace," he said and wrapped his arm over her shoulders. "And I like seeing you smile, so that's a bonus." She looked up and smiled as she met his gaze.

"I suppose two good things came out of my invitation to this tournament," she thought aloud. "Being able to meet Marth, and… well, you. Both of you."

"But mostly him," Dark Pit added bluntly, and she laughed.

"Maybe," she said quietly, and a smile grew on Pit's face as he held her a bit closer.


	12. Chapter XII: Farewell

"I can't believe it's over already," Lucina sighed as she walked away from the main building with Robin at her side. "I feel like there's so much more I could have learned."

"Well, the sooner we get home, the sooner we can deal with our Grima problem," Robin pointed out. He'd recovered some of his former spirit and optimism in recent days, but she could see the concern in his eyes at the thought of facing Chrom again.

"We'll find a way to fix this mess," she told him as she rested her hand on his arm and gave him a smile. "We'll bring about a better future and you'll be there to see it with us."

"I hope you're right," he replied with a nod, and they both turned around at the sound of approaching footsteps to find Marth coming to join them.

"I hoped I'd catch you two so I could bid you farewell and good luck," he said with a smile, and they dipped their heads. "Robin, have some faith in yourself and your friends. Trust in your combined strength, and you can do anything. And Lucina… Try to keep your head up, okay? As long as you keep fighting, hope will never die." She smiled as he opened his arms, and she stepped forward to embrace him.

"Thank you, Marth," she said softly. "For everything. Thank you for answering my prayer and lending me your strength."

"I only taught you a few techniques and helped you realize your own potential. Now…" He pulled her back with his hands on her shoulders and warmth in his eyes. "Give the world the peace it desires, Princess of Light. I hope Chrom realizes how blessed he is to have you as his daughter." He wiped away a stray tear that managed to escape her eye as she smiled.

"I'll miss you," she blubbered, and his smile faded briefly. He pulled both his and her Falchion from their scabbards and held the hilts toward her, and she blinked and stared at him before taking them both.

"As long as you carry this blade and my blood, you'll have my spirit with you, Lucina. I promise." She smiled again and handed his Falchion back to him, and he took it and sheathed it once again as she did the same. Marth turned his attention to Robin and, after a moment's hesitation, placed his hand on the tactician's shoulder. "And I'll keep you in my thoughts, Robin. Perhaps I can find a way to help you cope with the darkness you find yourself against, even if I can only leave behind a path for you." Robin smiled a bit and dipped his head.

"Focus on striking Grima down first," he advised. "But I do appreciate that, Marth. I'll be damned before I ruin everything you worked for and I won't let your sacrifices be in vain."

"I hope it doesn't come to that," the Hero-King said with a light chuckle. "Whether you believe it now or not, Chrom is lucky to have such a brilliant tactician at his side. I don't think we would have had nearly as many close calls under my command if I had you with me."

"You honor me," Robin replied. "Thank you, Marth. You truly deserve to be called the Hero-King."

"Maybe, but both of you, never forget that I am but one man. I never would have been able to accomplish what I did without my friends and allies. Bring the strengths of every person under your command together and you can do just about anything."

"Robin," Lucina smiled. "What is it again that you're always saying?" He chuckled and shook his head.

"'We're not pawns of some scripted fate. It's the invisible ties we forge that bind us.'"

"Wise words," Marth nodded. "Forge those powerful bonds and you'll all be fine." He glanced up past the Ylisseans and smiled. "Speaking of which…" The princess turned around to find a certain white-winged angel coming toward her with his goddess and doppelganger a short distance away. She nodded to her companions before closing the distance between them, stopping about a pace from him.

"Um…" He forced a sheepish smile. "I guess this is goodbye, huh?"

"I suppose so," she agreed, hoping her voice didn't sound as upset as she felt at the matter. "I've enjoyed getting to know you, Pit. Thank you for all you've done for me."

"My pleasure," he replied, folding his fidgeting hands behind his back. "Man, this tournament just blew by. But maybe it'll be nice to rest a while." He paused. "Er, sorry."

"Don't be," she told him with a small smile. "I've learned a lot since I've been here and I feel ready to face the Risen again. And from the sound of it, you've earned some time off yourself."

"Yeah…" He let out a half-hearted chuckle and they both stood there in awkward silence for a time as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet and she took hold of her arm.

"Pit!" Palutena called after a bit of time. "It's time for us to head home."

"I know, I know," he called back, looking over his shoulder at her before returning his gaze to Lucina. "Well… Be safe, okay? And good luck with the whole Grima thing."

"Thank you." Again, they both fell silent, and he bit his lip as he looked down and nodded to her before turning around to rejoin the others from his world, leaving her to gaze after him as she wrestled with the stirrings in her heart.

"Gotta say I expected something more than that," Dark Pit remarked once his lighter counterpart joined them. "You okay?"

"I'll be fine," Pit said in a dull voice. "Tournament's over. Time to go our separate ways."

"Pit…" He looked up to his goddess to find her eyes sparkling with sympathy. "You may never see her again. Is there really nothing else you want to say before we leave?" He frowned and glanced back over his shoulder to find the princess returning to her companion and ancestor, and he clenched his hands and groaned softly before taking off at a near sprint toward her.

"Lucina!" he called out, and she stopped and turned around. As he reached her, he took hold of her arm and stretched up to the tips of his toes, locking his lips with hers and shutting his eyes as his other hand cupped around the side of her neck. She let out a muffled sound of shock, but he persisted a moment longer until she wrapped her arms around his back and returned his kiss. Pit's heart erupted in bliss as he held her, losing himself in her warmth and the sweet taste of her lips. When he pulled back, he found her pale face had turned several shades red, though her eyes glimmered with affection as she smiled, an expression mirrored on his face.

"I…" she began softly, but he shook his head and took both her hands in his.

"I'll see you around, Lucina." With that, he dipped his head to her again and turned to hurry back to his companions, and her smile faded as she watched them vanish in the same light that had originally brought them to this world. Her heart ached in her chest, trying to cope with so many emotions at once as she heard footsteps until Marth came to stand at her side and wrapped his arm over her shoulders.

"Artemis's Curse," she mumbled, and he turned to her.

"Pardon?" he asked, and she looked up to meet his gaze.

"The Fire Emblem changes hands and those who hold it are doomed to lose the ones they love," she said, and grief flickered in his eyes. "I suppose this time, I am the one to bear that curse." She sighed softly and turned back toward Robin. "But no matter what cost, Grima will be stopped." She shook her head and put on as strong a face as she could muster as the tactician joined her. "Let's go home, Robin. I'm sure Father will be happy to see us both, and we have unfinished business to attend to."

"May Naga watch over you," Marth bade, and she hugged him again briefly.

"You as well, Marth," Robin replied as the princess pulled back, and he gave her a sympathetic smile as they made their way to the portal that would take them back to Ylisse. She turned around to find Marth waving with a reassuring smile as light flashed around them, and when it died down, the gates of Ylisstol stood tall in front of her.

"Welcome home," Robin said gently, and she turned to him and nodded. "Shall we?" They started toward the castle and, to no surprise, found Chrom training in the courtyard with several broken targets scattered around him. He looked up as he wiped the sweat from his forehead, and his eyes widened before a smile overtook his face.

"Lucina!" She could hear the relief in his voice as he dropped Falchion and hurried over to her, then hugged her tightly, an embrace she gladly returned as her joy of being reunited with her father burned in her heart, if only briefly. He pulled back with a nearly blinding grin and turned to shake hands with Robin before pulling the tactician in for a hug as well. "I'm so glad you two are safe. It's been way too quiet around here without you."

"I'm sure the sound of you breaking everything in sight while training was enough to fill the void," Robin replied with a smile. "But it's good to be back. Though…" His smile faded and his eyes darkened. "Chrom, we have a lot to discuss with you." Chrom frowned as he made his way back to pick up Falchion and sheathe it.

"Judging from your face, I'd wager it's no laughing matter," he said. "What happened?"

"Well, first, we met the Hero-King," Lucina said, and Chrom stared at her.

"As in THE Hero-King? Marth?" She nodded. "…Whoa."

"Yes," Robin nodded. "You and he are a lot alike, Chrom. Though maybe he's a touch more refined than you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Robin shook his head. "Just teasing." He took a deep breath. "But joking aside, it's about Grima." He fell silent and Lucina took a step closer to him as Chrom joined them again. "I…"

"Chrom!" They all turned to find Lissa running in from the gates. "You have to come quickly! Oh, welcome back, guys. But the Risen are on their way! They're just outside the city!"

"Calm down, Lissa," Chrom told his little sister, placing his hand on her arm before turning to the former Smashers. "Tell me about it later. Right now, I hope you're ready for a fight!" The four rushed out of the courtyard, bound for the city gates.

"Some welcoming party," Robin remarked as he fell in beside Lucina. "You ready for this?"  
>"Always," she replied. "Let's go."<p>

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I'll be the first to acknowledge this was a heck of a jump, but there wasn't much else for me to cover other than run-of-the-mill battles. Not very much plot, basically, and I think it'd get pretty boring to both write and read pretty quickly. But don't worry! One more chapter will follow this one.  
>Oh, but you Kid Icarus fans should know I've got another story in the works that I've never previously mentioned (though I'll probably upload the cover to my deviantART shortly).<p> 


	13. Epilogue: Across the Bounds of Time

Up in Skyworld, quick footsteps and the rustling of white wings echoed through the main corridor of the temple home to the realm's ruler. The angel making the noise had set a quick pace through the halls, slowing down once he reached his destination and entered the gate chamber.

"Okay, okay, I'm here," he said as he looked up to his superior on the platform above, gazing into a small fountain of water there. "What's so urgent that you needed to pull me out of training?"

"I found her, Kuro." Kuro blinked, brushing his black bangs out of his red eyes as his gaze met his twin's above.

"Found who?" he asked, and Pit smiled with relief shining in his blue eyes.

"Lucina." He turned back to the fountain, his wings twitching slightly, and Kuro shook his head helplessly before looking back up and smirking as he crossed his arms over the white tunic he garbed himself in.

"Go get her," he said simply. "I'll hold down the fort until you get back." Pit's smile grew as he dropped down to the floor and nodded, then held his hand out toward the gate as a light briefly flashed around it. The doors creaked open and he took a step toward it, looking back to Kuro to find a reassuring smile on his twin's face. "Go! You've been waiting way too long for this to hesitate now." Pit nodded and turned back to the gate, then leapt into the air and spread his wings as he soared through the sky, bound for the land below.

Meanwhile, on the surface, the Shepherds had wasted no time in engaging the Risen attempting to attack their capital city. Lucina ran her blade through the monster nearest her, and it vanished in strange dark purple smoke. She grit her teeth with her brow furrowed, trying not to panic as she found several more that drove her quite a few paces away from her allies, and she made quick work of the axe wielder attempting to strike her.

"You've gotten stronger since I left," she noticed, dodging around a cast of magic and slashing through the one who cast it. "Unfortunately for you, so have I!" She blocked a sword coming at her and skidded back, sweat beading on her forehead as she glared at her next assailant.

However, a flash of blue light above caught her eye, and it shot forth quickly and struck the Risen, destroying it almost instantly. She blinked and looked up, shielding her eyes from the sunlight, and found something flying among the clouds. It produced another bright blue light that took out another approaching Risen, though this time, she realized just what it was attacking them: an arrow.

"I… It can't be," she breathed, looking up again as the form dove down sharply, flaring its full white wings just before landing a few paces from her with his back turned to her. He lifted his hand and a staff flashed into his possession, one that bore a striking resemblance to the one she had seen a certain goddess of light wielding during the tournament. He took a moment to gather his strength before slamming the staff's handle into the ground, and light burst forth from around him that destroyed nearly every Risen attacking them, and the Shepherds made quick work of the stragglers that remained. Once the threat had passed, the newcomer straightened up, resting his staff's handle against the ground.

"It's been a while, Lucina," he said lightly as he turned to her, and she stared at him in shock. He appeared to be a young man, perhaps a few years older than her, garbed in two white robes along with a dark undershirt and shorts. On his wrists and shoulders he wore off-golden armor and he had sandals strapped around his lower legs. On his left leg was a piece of white cloth, and nestled in his brown locks of hair was a laurel crown with the tips curving down a bit and two longer chains of leaves hanging down on either side. His blue eyes sparkled with light and warm affection as he smiled softly.

"I-Impossible," she stammered as she continued to stare at him. "You…"

"Oh, come on!" His smile grew into a playful grin. "Haven't forgotten me already, have you? Don't tell me I've been waiting all these centuries for nothing." She was silent a moment longer before she finally dropped her blade and cupped her hand over her nose and mouth.

"P-Pit…?" His grin softened but grew as he nodded and stepped toward her. "Pit!" She rushed over to him and leapt into his waiting arms, and he held her tightly as he lifted her slightly off her feet, burying his face softly against her neck and taking in her soft scent that he'd all but forgotten.

"Oh, I've missed you," he breathed into her ear as his arms tightened around her. He felt a few droplets of water against his chest through his undershirt.

"I don't understand," she managed to say. "How is this even possible? How did you get here?"

"I've been here the entire time," he told her with a smile. "Turns out our worlds were distanced by time, not space. When I realized that, I just… waited. A long time." He sighed softly and nuzzled his face in her hair. "This, right now, makes it all worth it." She pulled back and smiled as she looked into his eyes, finding he now stood about a head taller than her.

"Forgive me, I just… I need to adjust. To me, you and I just parted… And look at you now! A fully grown young man- or, well, you look like one, anyway." He chuckled. "And… quite handsome, if I do say so myself." His face flushed slightly and she leaned up to touch her lips to his, and his arms again tightened around her. Much too soon for his tastes, the sound of a clearing throat broke them apart and they both turned to find Chrom and Robin staring at them.

"So," the blue-haired young man said curtly. "Care to tell me what's going on here?"

"I can scarcely believe it," Robin marveled. "Pit? Is that really you?"

"Good to see you again, Robin," Pit replied with a grin, letting Lucina go and taking up his staff again. "And you must be Lord Chrom, then? I've heard a lot about you- all of it good. These two speak so highly of you."

"When did you get so formal?" Lucina wondered, and he shook his head.

"Came with the job."

"Uh, Pit was another fighter in the tournament we took part in," Robin tried to explain. "But I guess he was closer to home than we thought."

"Uh, so…" Chrom blinked and shifted his gaze from Lucina to Pit and back. "You two are… together?"

"That's a good question," Lucina replied. "But I suppose in a way, yes. He captured my heart, Father."

"And you can trust him wholeheartedly," Robin agreed. "He's a good guy."  
>"Uh huh," Chrom sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I guess I should expect that from an angel. Who am I to say no to that?" Pit laughed briefly before recovering his composure, though his grin remained.<p>

"Just her father and the leader of Ylisse," he said. "But thank you, Chrom."

"So, Pit…" Robin took a few steps closer to him with curious eyes. "You've obviously gotten a lot more powerful since we saw you last- which is weird, since we just got back. And that staff…" Pit's smile faded as his grip on the staff's handle tightened. Robin must have seen the age-old flicker of grief in his eyes, and his expression fell. "Did… something happen to Palutena?" Pit took a deep breath and let it out slowly, bowing his head.

"Lady Palutena… isn't around anymore."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Er, want an explanation? Read the On the Wings of Light and Dark series. And if you're craving more Lucit, then I'll point you to Across the Bounds of Time. And anyway, I REALLY wanted to find a way to put Nemo in somewhere in this chapter, but it just wasn't going to work out unfortunately.  
>Anyway, that's the end of The Angel and the Princess. I'd love to hear any final thoughts you all have and thank you for sticking with me! I don't have any other Smash-based stories in mind, but as I mentioned on the last chapter, I have a Kid Icarus-based fic in the works that I hope to start soon. Though it will be a crossover story as well, I think it'll be pretty easy to keep up with even if you don't know the other subject very well. And now, I realize I'm pretty much rambling, so I'm going to end this now. Thank you again!<p> 


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